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本

Mandarin · pinyin běn

(bound form) root; stem
(bound form) origin; source
(bound form) one's own; this
(bound form) this; the current (year etc)
(bound form) original
(bound form) inherent
originally; initially
capital; principal
classifier for books, periodicals, files etc

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本: běn · root, origin, source; basis

Written characters and their own readings; the entry’s pronunciation is shown above.

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Mandarin tones

3 · ben3

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1character link6same-tone records

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Read this spelling in Classical texts

Follow a written form into the eight pinned witnesses: Analects, Mencius, Laozi, Zhuangzi, Xunzi, Han Feizi, Sunzi and the Mao Shijing. A match is a place to investigate; it does not prove that a modern dictionary sense fits the passage.

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Rime Cantonese 粵拼

bun2

Cantonese word readings for 本. This lexicon supplies readings, not definitions.

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Wiktionary English definitions · Chinese section

Independent source senses for this spelling, with usage labels retained. Not matched to the pronunciation above.

character

(of plants) root; stem
source; origin; root
foundation; basis
edition; version; copy
originally; initially
current; present
this; here; this very
capital (money used in investment)
Classifier for books, periodicals, files. ⇒ all nouns using this classifier
volume
Used in certain name transliterations. — a transliteration of the English male given name Ben
Used in certain name transliterations. — a transliteration of the Arabic patronymic بِن (bin), bin
Used in certain name transliterations. — a transliteration of the Hebrew patronymic בן, Ben
(Korean Classical Chinese) ancestral seat of a descent group

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