Dictionary › 本
本
běn
本 (běn) means "(classifier for books); root; origin". It is an HSK 3.0 level 1 word, and was HSK 1 in the old six-level list.
What 本 means
- bound formroot; stem
- bound formorigin; source
- bound formone's own; this
- bound formthis; the current (year etc)
- bound formoriginal
- bound forminherent
- originally; initially
- capital; principal
- classifier for books, periodicals, files etc
How 本 is used in grammar
本 is a grammar word. Each link goes to its own section: what it does in that pattern, the structure, three example sentences with pinyin, and the mistake to avoid.
- Number-Measure Phrases (HSK 1)
- Formal Demonstrative Pronouns: 本 and 此 (HSK 6)
The official HSK 3.0 grammar outline lists it at level 5, pronouns (指示代词).
Example sentences
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拿本书读！Take a book and read it.
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是一本书。It is a book.
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看这本书。Read this book.
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这本书小。This book is small.
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这是日本。Here is Japan.
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基本上吧。Basically.
Words starting with 本
- 本来běn láioriginal; originally; at first
- 本科běn kēundergraduate course; undergraduate (attributive)
- 本质běn zhìessence; nature; innate character
- 本领běn lǐngskill; ability; capability
- 本身běn shēnitself; in itself; per se
- 本人běn rénI; me; myself; oneself; yourself; himself; herself; the person concerned
- 本事běn shìsource material; original story
- 本能běn nénginstinct
- 本着běn zhebased on...; in conformance with..; taking as one's main principle
- 本钱běn qiáncapital; (fig.) asset; advantage; the means (to do sth)
- 本报běn bàothis newspaper
- 本文běn wénthis text; article; the main body of a book
- 本地běn dìlocal; this locality
- 本科生běn kē shēngundergraduate student
- 本子běn zibook; notebook; Japanese-style self-published comic (esp. an erotic one), aka "dōjinshi"
- 本土běn tǔone's native country; native; local
- 本国běn guóone's own country
- 本性běn xìngnatural instincts; nature; inherent quality
- 本月běn yuèthis month; the current month
- 本市běn shìthis city; our city
- 本期běn qīthe current period; this term (usually in finance)
- 本届běn jiècurrent; this year
- 本色běn sèinherent qualities; natural qualities; distinctive character
- 本就běn jiùby nature; fundamentally; inherently
Words containing 本
- 日本Rì běnJapan
- 根本gēn běnfundamental; basic; root
- 基本jī běnbasic; fundamental; main
- 笔记本bǐ jì běnnotebook (stationery); (computing) laptop; notebook (abbr. for 笔记本电脑
- 成本chéng běn(manufacturing, production etc) costs
- 版本bǎn běnversion; edition; release
- 资本zī běncapital (economics)
- 剧本jù běnscript; screenplay; scenario; libretto
- 标本biāo běnspecimen; sample; the root cause and symptoms of a disease
- 日本人Rì běn rénJapanese person
- 基本上jī běn shangbasically; on the whole
- 原本yuán běnoriginally; the original; original copy; original version
- 课本kè běntextbook
- 文本wén běna text (article, script, contract etc); version of a text…
- 资本主义zī běn zhǔ yìcapitalism
- 书本shū běnbook (chiefly used to refer to a plurality of books or books in general)
- 资本家zī běn jiācapitalist
- 一本正经yī běn zhèng jīng(idiom) in deadly earnest; deadpan
- 译本yì běntranslation (translated version of a text)
- 日记本rì jì běndiary (book)
- 样本yàng běnsample; specimen
- 脚本jiǎo běnscript; screenplay; scenario; libretto; (computing) script
- 基本功jī běn gōngbasic skills; fundamentals
- 大本营dà běn yíngheadquarters; base camp
Characters that look like 本
Easy to confuse on sight. Compare them side by side once and the pair stops costing you.
- 木mù(bound form) tree; (bound form) wood; unresponsive; numb; wooden
- 车chēcar; vehicle; machine
- 水shuǐwater; (after a name) ... River; to swim (used mostly in 会水
- 尽jìnto use up; to exhaust; to end
- 丰fēngluxuriant; buxom; variant of 丰
- 禾hé(bound form) grain plant; cereal crop
Sounds the same
Read běn, tone for tone, but written differently.
Where 本 is taught
In the GraphChinese course it is part of Measure Words, Money and Age (HSK 1), HSK 1 Characters · Set 13 (HSK 1), each one a topic in the dependency graph of HSK 1–6 that opens only once its prerequisites are solid.
Go deeper
- Every HSK 1 word, with the rest of its level.
- How characters are built from components.
- How to learn Chinese characters.
- The four tones and the neutral tone, to read běn correctly.
- Look up another word in the free dictionary.
Looking a word up is not learning it. GraphChinese puts all of HSK 1–6 into one dependency graph, teaches each piece only once its prerequisites are solid, and schedules reviews to land just before you would forget.
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