碗 (wǎn): bowl
碗 (wǎn) is a Chinese character meaning “bowl.” Classified as HSK Level 3 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of 石 (semantic) and 宛 (phonetic). It ranks #1914 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).
Etymologically derived, 碗 stone. Its radical form 石 (stone) appears in many related characters such as 确 (què, certain, true), 碰 (pèng, to touch, to bump), 石 (shí, stone).
Definitions
- bowl
Etymology & Origin
Stroke Order
Practice writing 碗 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 |
|---|---|---|
| 饭碗noun | fàn wǎn | rice bowl |
| 洗碗机noun | xǐ wǎn jī | dishwasher |
| 碗柜noun | wǎn guì | cupboard |
| 茶碗noun | chá wǎn | teacup |
| 海碗noun | hǎi wǎn | very large bowl |
| 汤碗 | tāng wǎn | soup bowl |
| 瓷碗noun | cí wǎn | porcelain bowl |
| 碗筷noun | wǎn kuài | bowl and chopsticks |
| 一碗水端平phrase | yī wǎn shuǐ duān píng | lit. to hold a bowl of water level (idiom) |
| 吃着碗里，看着锅里 | chī zhe wǎn lǐ , kàn zhe guō lǐ | lit. eyeing what's in the pot as one eats from one's bowl (idiom) |
| 吃着碗里，瞧着锅里 | chī zhe wǎn lǐ , qiáo zhe guō lǐ | see 吃著碗裡，看著鍋裡|吃着碗里，看着锅里 |
| 端起碗吃肉，放下筷子骂娘 | duān qǐ wǎn chī ròu , fàng xià kuài zi mà niáng | lit. to eat meat from one's bowl, then put down one's chopsticks and scold one's mother (idiom) |
| 金饭碗 | jīn fàn wǎn | secure and lucrative job |
| 碗公noun | wǎn gōng | (Tw) very large bowl |
| 超级碗proper-noun | chāo jí wǎn | Super Bowl (American football championship game) |
碗 appears in 31 compound words: 13 as the first character, 48 as the last, and 39 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 碗 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.
Idioms & Chengyu (1)
Example Sentences
这碗面很大，一个人吃不完，我们可以分着吃。
Zhè wǎn miàn hěn dà, yí gè rén chī bù wán, wǒmen kěyǐ fēn zhe chī.
This bowl of noodles is very large; one person can't finish it. We can share it.
铁饭碗不香!日本医学系报考降温 “文科回归”现...
tiě fàn wǎn bù xiāng ! rì běn yī xué xì bào kǎo jiàng wēn wén kē huí guī xiàn . . .
The iron rice bowl is not fragrant! The application for the Japanese medical department has cooled down, and the "return of liberal arts" is now...
...款中式传统饼类热量排行榜 吃1个鸡批=1碗白饭 营养师教3大进食贴士
. . . kuǎn zhōng shì chuán tǒng bǐng lèi rè liàng pái háng bǎng chī 1 gè jī pī 1 wǎn bái fàn yíng yǎng shī jiào 3 dà jìn shí tiē shì
... Traditional Chinese cake calorie ranking Eat 1 chicken pie = 1 bowl of rice Nutritionist teaches 3 eating tips
王菲连两年春晚开唱!粉丝敲碗办演唱会 宽姐松口了
wáng 菲 lián liǎng nián chūn wǎn kāi chàng ! fěn sī qiāo wǎn bàn yǎn chàng huì kuān jiě sōng kǒu le
Faye Wong has been singing at the Spring Festival Gala for two consecutive years! Fans knocked on the bowl to hold a concert, and Sister Kuan let go
美国知名家电大厂宣布裁员 400人惨丢饭碗
měi guó zhī míng jiā diàn dà hǎn xuān bù cái yuán 4 0 0 rén cǎn diū fàn wǎn
A well-known American home appliance manufacturer announced layoffs of 400 people
我的新年“特供”丨订单翻倍!小碗梨成春节假期“新宠..
wǒ de xīn nián tè gōng 丨 dìng shàn fān bèi ! xiǎo wǎn lí chéng chūn jié jiǎ qī xīn chǒng . .
The new year's special 丨 order doubled! The newest and most popular way to get the most out of the Chinese New Year is to get the most out of the Chinese New Year.
你能帮我洗这些碗盘吗？
Nǐ néng bāng wǒ xǐ zhèxiē wǎn pán ma?
Can you help me wash these dishes?
我为什么要洗碗呢？
Wǒ wèishénme yào xǐwǎn ne?
Why must I wash the dishes?
到洗涤槽去帮忙洗碗盘吧！
Dào xǐdícáo qù bāngmáng xǐwǎn pán ba!
Go and help wash up at the sink!
这碗汤大咸了，喝不下。
Zhè wǎn tāng dà xián le, hē bù xià.
This soup is too salty to eat.
Character Family
Frequently Asked Questions
What does 碗 (wǎn) mean in Chinese?
How many strokes does 碗 have?
What is the radical of 碗?
What are the components of 碗?
What are common words containing 碗?
What characters sound the same as 碗 (wǎn)?
Is 碗 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
Practice writing 碗 with real-time feedback
Trace stroke sequences, hear spoken pronunciation, and build lasting retention with spaced repetition in the HanziFeed app.