番
surname Pan; (bound form) foreign (non-Chinese); barbarian; (classifier) a kind; a sort; (classifier) (used after the verb 翻[fan1] to indicate how many times a quantity doubles, as in 翻一番[fan1 yi1 fan1] "to double")
Closest English meanings
turn·foreign·time
The Calligrapher — Yán Zhēnqīng 颜真卿
Tang master of robust regular script; co-creator of the enduring 'Yan style'.
Tang calligrapher (709–784), master of regular script/running script — the Tang moral paragon whose upright, muscular regular script became the model of Chinese integrity in writing. Tang dynasty
Cultural Story
Fan drew its ancient sense from animal tracks and turn-taking — a watch, a round, one time through. It also served as the old word for foreign things beyond the pale: the western regions' 番 tribes, and the produce they sent — the tomato, arriving by sea, was named 番茄, the foreign aubergine.
Common words & phrases
- 番茄 tomato
- 番号 unit designation · code number
- 一番 once · a turn
Read the story behind the character
Kitchen and speech both kept it: 番茄 in every scrambled-egg pan and noodle broth; 一番, one round — 检查一番, give it a check; 番号, unit designation, in military history and war dramas. Anime fans even borrowed fan's sound for their beloved '番' series episodes.
Own this character
Purchase delivers the original SVG of this glyph, brushed by Yán Zhēnqīng 颜真卿, ready to place on skin, paper, or screen.