辫 (biàn): a braid or queue, to plait
辫 (biàn) is a Chinese character meaning “a braid or queue.” Classified as HSK Level 7-9 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of 辛 (phonetic), 纟 (semantic) and 辛 (phonetic). It ranks #2851 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).
Etymologically derived, 辫 thread. Its radical form 辛 (bitter) appears in many related characters such as 辣 (là, hot (spicy)), 辩 (biàn, to dispute), 辛 (xīn, (of taste) hot or pungent).
Definitions
- a braid or queue
- to plait
Etymology & Origin
Stroke Order
Practice writing 辫 with real-time feedback — trace each stroke in the correct order and build muscle memory in the HanziFeed app.
Words & Compounds
Common Compounds
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 辫子 | biàn zi | plait |
| 小辫子 | xiǎo biàn zi | pigtail |
| 小辫 | xiǎo biàn | pigtail |
| 发辫 | fà biàn | braid |
| 抓小辫子 | zhuā xiǎo biàn zi | to catch sb out |
| 小辫儿 | xiǎo biàn r | erhua variant of 小辮|小辫[xiao3 bian4] |
| 抓辫子 | zhuā biàn zi | to grab sb by the pigtail |
| 双辫八色鸫 | shuāng biàn bā sè dōng | (bird species of China) eared pitta (Hydrornis phayrei) |
| 麻花辫 | má huā biàn | braided pigtail |
| 马尾辫 | mǎ wěi biàn | ponytail |
| 剃发留辫 | tì fà liú biàn | to shave the head but keep the queue |
| 翘辫子 | qiào biàn zi | (coll.) to die |
| 揪辫子 | jiū biàn zi | to grab sb by the queue (i.e. hair) |
| 脏辫 | zāng biàn | dreadlocks |
辫 appears in 14 compound words: 7 as the first character, 43 as the last, and 50 in a middle position. Compound statistics computed from SUBTLEX-CH and HSK 3.0 vocabulary data.
Strongest Collocations
Characters that most frequently co-occur with 辫 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.
Example Sentences
这个辫字的意思与它的部首有关。
zhè gě biàn zì de yì sī yú tā de bù shǒu yǒu guān .
The meaning of the character "辫" is related to its radical.
汤姆把胡子编成了辫子。
Tāngmǔ bǎ húzi biānchéng le biànzi.
Tom has braided his beard.
你想让我帮你编辫子吗？
Nǐ xiǎng ràng wǒ bāng nǐ biān biànzi ma?
Would you like me to braid your hair?
我用丝带在头上扎了一个马尾辫。
Wǒ yòng sīdài zài tóushàng zā le yī gè mǎwěibiàn.
I used a ribbon to tie my hair into a ponytail.
你总是绑马尾辫，为什么不偶尔试试双马尾呢？
Nǐ zǒngshì bǎng mǎwěibiàn, wèishénme bù ǒu'ěr shì shì shuāng mǎwěi ne?
You always wear a ponytail. Why not try pigtails every now and then?
她解开了马尾辫。
Tā jiěkāi le mǎwěibiàn.
She untied her ponytail.
Character Family
辛 Radical Family — Characters sharing the bitter radical
Frequently Asked Questions
What does 辫 (biàn) mean in Chinese?
How many strokes does 辫 have?
What is the radical of 辫?
What are the components of 辫?
What are common words containing 辫?
What characters sound the same as 辫 (biàn)?
Is 辫 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
Practice writing 辫 with real-time feedback
Trace stroke sequences, hear native pronunciation, and build lasting retention with spaced repetition in the HanziFeed app.