彬 (bīn): urbane, well-bred, cultivated

彬 (bīn) is a Chinese character meaning “urbane.” Classified as HSK Level 7-9 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of 林 (phonetic) and 彡 (semantic). It ranks #2592 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).

Etymologically derived, 彬 hair. Its radical form 彡 (bristle) appears in many related characters such as 影 (yǐng, picture), 形 (xíng, to appear), 彩 (cǎi, (bright) color).

Spoken pronunciation

HSK 7-9 Radical: 彡 bristle11 strokesFrequency #2592林 phonetic 彡 semantic

Definitions

urbane
well-bred
cultivated

Etymology & Origin

彬

pictophonetichair

Decomposition: ⿰林彡 (layout: left-right)

Components:林phonetic 彡semantic

Stroke Order

Practice writing 彬 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
彬彬有礼phrase	bīn bīn yǒu lǐ	refined and courteous
文质彬彬phrase	wén zhì bīn bīn	refined in manner
中山成彬	zhōng shān chéng bīn	NAKAYAMA Nariaki (1943–), right-wing Japanese politician and prominent denier of Japanese war crimes
彬马那	bīn mǎ nà	Pyinmana, town in central Myanmar
彬州市	bīn zhōu shì	Binzhou, a county-level city in Xianyang City 咸陽市\|咸阳市, Shaanxi
彬彬君子	bīn bīn jūn zǐ	refined gentleman
彬州	bīn zhōu	see 彬州市
彬彬adjective	bīn bīn	refined, gentle, and elegant
彬蔚	bīn wèi	erudite and refined

Total compounds

As first character

As last character

As middle character

彬 appears in 9 compound words: 78 as the first character, 11 as the last, and 11 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 彬 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.

彰zhāng

0.4861,174 co-occurrences

朴pǔ

0.410466 co-occurrences

曹cáo

0.399592 co-occurrences

秀xiù

0.3941,170 co-occurrences

李lǐ

0.3902,020 co-occurrences

庞páng

0.389160 co-occurrences

炫xuàn

0.379100 co-occurrences

贺hè

0.378194 co-occurrences

朵duǒ

0.377204 co-occurrences

刘liú

0.376656 co-occurrences

Idioms & Chengyu (3)

彬彬君子bīn bīn jūn zǐHSK 7+

refined gentleman

phrase

彬彬有礼bīnbīnyǒulǐHSK 7+

to be refined and courteous

phrase

Showing 2 of 3 idioms containing 彬.

Example Sentences

AI-Generated

这个彬字的意思与它的部首有关。

zhè gě bīn zì de yì sī yú tā de bù shǒu yǒu guān .

The meaning of the character "彬" is related to its radical.

中国新闻网·体育Aug 2026

水上篮球参赛选手穆文彬说。

shuǐ shàng lán qiú cān sài xuǎn shǒu mù wén bīn shuō .

said Mu Wenbin, a water basketball competitor.

T客邦Apr 2026

...iet Joker》登场!结城爱良、松田彬人联手打造,新动漫生成模型Tsubaki...

. . . i e t J o k e r dēng chǎng ! jié chéng ài liáng , sōng tián bīn rén lián shǒu dǎ zào , xīn dòng màn shēng chéng mó xíng T s u b a k i . . .

...iet Joker is here! Created by Aira Yuki and Akihito Matsuda, the new anime generation model Tsubaki...

TvbsMar 2026

廉世彬胜利女神发威!合体高佳彬、金佳垠韩籍3...

lián shì bīn shèng lì nǚ shén fā wēi ! gě tǐ gāo jiā bīn , jīn jiā 垠 hán jí 3 . . .

Yeon Se-bin’s “Goddess of Victory” Strikes Again! Teaming Up with Ko Ga-bin and Kim Ga-eun, the Korean Trio...

BastillepostMar 2026

Stray Kids 彰彬砸4900万港元购入豪宅全额付清成刘在...

S t r a y K i d s zhāng bīn zá 4 9 0 0 wàn gǎng yuán gòu rù háo zhái quán é fù qīng chéng liú zài . . .

Stray Kids' Jangbin Spends HK$49 Million on Luxury Mansion, Pays in Full to Become the Next...

Nownews今日新聞Mar 2026

高佳彬是谁?河回面具女神、台湾手摇都喝半糖加...

gāo jiā bīn shì shéi ? hé huí miàn jù nǚ shén , tái wān shǒu yáo dōu hē bàn táng jiā . . .

Who is Gao Jiabin? The "Goddess of Hahoe Masks," who orders her bubble tea in Taiwan with half the usual sugar...

Tatoeba

汤姆既彬彬有礼又善解人意。

Tāngmǔ jì bīnbīnyǒulǐ yòu shànjiěrényì.

Tom is polite and sensitive.

Character Family

Frequently Asked Questions

What does 彬 (bīn) mean in Chinese?

彬 (bīn) primarily means "urbane." It is classified as HSK Level 7-9, making it an expert-level character. It ranks #2592 in character frequency.

What's the difference between 彬 and 禁?

彬 (bīn) and 禁 (jìn) are often confused. confusable. The key distinguishing feature: 彡 vs 礻 (same 林 component).

How many strokes does 彬 have?

彬 is written with 11 strokes. The correct stroke order matters for recognition and handwriting speed — practice with the animated guide above to build proper technique.

What is the radical of 彬?

The radical associated with 彬 is 彡 (bristle). This radical appears in many characters related to bristle.

What are the components of 彬?

彬 is composed of: 林 (phonetic), 彡 (semantic). Its IDS decomposition is ⿰林彡 with a left-right layout. Understanding the components helps with both memorization and recognizing related characters.

What are common words containing 彬?

Common words with 彬 include: 彬彬有礼 (bīn bīn yǒu lǐ, "refined and courteous"); 文质彬彬 (wén zhì bīn bīn, "refined in manner"); 中山成彬 (zhōng shān chéng bīn, "NAKAYAMA Nariaki (1943–), right-wing Japanese politician and prominent denier of Japanese war crimes"); 彬马那 (bīn mǎ nà, "Pyinmana, town in central Myanmar"); 彬州市 (bīn zhōu shì, "Binzhou, a county-level city in Xianyang City 咸陽市|咸阳市, Shaanxi"). There are over 9 compound words containing this character.

What characters sound the same as 彬 (bīn)?

Several characters share the pronunciation bīn: 宾 (visitor), 滨 ((bound form) water's edge), 缤 (used in 繽紛|缤纷). Context and tones help distinguish between them in speech and writing.

Is 彬 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?

Yes, 彬 is written the same way in both simplified and traditional Chinese.

Practice writing 彬 with real-time feedback

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