邊

Translingual

Han character

邊 (Kangxi radical 162, 辵+15, 19 strokes, cangjie input 卜竹山尸 (YHUS), four-corner 3630₂, composition ⿺辶臱)

Derived characters

• 籩, 𠑟, 𤄺, 𤓋, 𥤓, 𨇱, 𩽲, 𪢥, 𮉝, 𮕙

References

• Kangxi Dictionary: page 1267, character 13
• Dai Kanwa Jiten: character 39216
• Dae Jaweon: page 1765, character 30
• Hanyu Da Zidian (first edition): volume 6, page 3894, character 3
• Unihan data for U+908A

Chinese

Glyph origin

Historical forms of the character 邊
Shang	Western Zhou	Warring States	Shuowen Jiezi (compiled in Han)
Oracle bone script	Bronze inscriptions	Chu slip and silk script	Small seal script

Originally 臱. Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *mpeːn) : phonetic 臱 (OC *men) + semantic 辶 (“walking;movement”). The semantic component 辵 (now 辶) was added during bronze inscriptions.

Etymology 1

Perhaps cognate with 偏 (OC *pʰen, *pʰens, “side; oblique”), 片 (OC *pʰeːns, “partial; one-sided”), 諞 (OC *ben, *brenʔ, *benʔ, “glib-tongued; insincere”) (Schuessler, 2007).

“to have hot pot”

From 邊爐／边炉 (“hot pot”). Compare 啤 (“to drink beer”), from 啤酒 (“beer”).

Pronunciation

Definitions

邊

1. edge; side; margin; brim

   湖邊／湖边  ―  húbiān  ―  lakeshore; lakeside

   碗邊兒／碗边儿  ―  wǎn biānr  ―  rim of a bowl

   街道兩邊／街道两边  ―  jiēdào liǎng biān  ―  both sides of the street

   在懸崖邊行走是危險的。 [MSC, trad.]
   在悬崖边行走是危险的。 [MSC, simp.]

   Zài xuányá biān xíngzǒu shì wēixiǎn de.

   It is dangerous to walk near the edge of a cliff.

   孩子們在海灘邊用沙子堆砌城堡。 [MSC, trad.]
   孩子们在海滩边用沙子堆砌城堡。 [MSC, simp.]

   Háizi men zài hǎitān biān yòng shāzi duīqì chéngbǎo.

   The children are building sandcastles on the beach.

   冰涼的水在船邊泛起泡沫。 [MSC, trad.]
   冰凉的水在船边泛起泡沫。 [MSC, simp.]

   Bīngliáng de shuǐ zài chuán biān fàn qǐ pàomò.

   The icy cold water foamed over the side of the boat.

2. decorative border

   金邊眼鏡／金边眼镜  ―  jīn biān yǎnjìng  ―  (please add an English translation of this usage example)

   她的手帕有一條藍邊。 [MSC, trad.]
   她的手帕有一条蓝边。 [MSC, simp.]

   Tā de shǒupà yǒu yī tiáo lán biān.

   Her handkerchief has a blue border.

3. side (place next to an object)

   床邊／床边  ―  chuáng biān  ―  next to the bed

   坐在窗邊／坐在窗边  ―  zuò zài chuāng biān  ―  to sit by the window

4. border; boundary

   邊疆／边疆  ―  biānjiāng  ―  border area

   戍邊／戍边  ―  shùbiān  ―  to garrison the border

5. (geometry) side (Classifier: 條／条)

   長方體有幾條邊？ [MSC, trad.]
   长方体有几条边？ [MSC, simp.]

   Chángfāngtǐ yǒu jǐ tiáo biān?

   How many sides does a cuboid have?

6. (graph theory) side (Classifier: 條／条)
7. limit; boundary

   無邊無際／无边无际  ―  wúbiānwújì  ―  boundless; limitless; vast

8. side (of a family, negotiation, etc.)

   雙邊會談／双边会谈  ―  shuāng biān huìtán  ―  bilateral talks

   佢老婆嗰邊嘅親戚 [Cantonese, trad.]
   佢老婆嗰边嘅亲戚 [Cantonese, simp.]

   keoi⁵ lou⁵ po⁴ go² bin¹ ge³ can¹ cik¹

   relatives on his wife's side of the family

   你為什麼不站在我這邊？ [MSC, trad.]
   你为什么不站在我这边？ [MSC, simp.]

   Nǐ wèishénme bù zhàn zài wǒ zhè biān?

   Why are you not on my side?

9. Suffix for locality noun.

   上邊／上边  ―  shàngbiān  ―  on the top, above

   下邊／下边  ―  xiàbiān  ―  under, below

   裡邊／里边  ―  lǐbiān  ―  inside

10. (Cantonese) close to edges

    唔好行咁邊呀！ [Cantonese, trad.]
    唔好行咁边呀！ [Cantonese, simp.]

    m⁴ hou² haang⁴ gam³ bin¹ aa³!

    Don't walk that close to the edge!

11. (used before each verb of simultaneous actions) while

    我邊等邊瀏覽幾本雜誌。 [MSC, trad.]
    我边等边浏览几本杂志。 [MSC, simp.]

    Wǒ biān děng biān liúlǎn jǐ běn zázhì.

    I browsed through some magazines while I waited.

    你喜歡邊聽音樂邊做作業嗎？ [MSC, trad.]
    你喜欢边听音乐边做作业吗？ [MSC, simp.]

    Nǐ xǐhuān biān tīng yīnyuè biān zuò zuòyè ma?

    Do you listen to music while doing your homework?

12. (used after numerals or words indicating time) close to; near
13. (Hong Kong Cantonese, usually reduplicated, always used with 佢) to have hot pot

    今日咁凍，不如邊邊佢啦！ [Cantonese, trad.]
    今日咁冻，不如边边佢啦！ [Cantonese, simp.]

    gam¹ jat⁶ gam³ dung³, bat¹ jyu⁴ bin¹ bin¹ keoi⁵ laa¹!

    It's so cold today, let's have hot pot!

14. a surname: Bian

Synonyms

• (edge):

• (to have hot pot):

Compounds

Descendants

Others:

• → Vietnamese: bên (“side; edge; face; beside”)
• → Vietnamese: ven (“shore; bank; side”)

Etymology 2

Pronunciation

Definitions

邊

1. (Cantonese) which

   想唱邊首呀？ [Cantonese, trad.]
   想唱边首呀？ [Cantonese, simp.]

   soeng² coeng³ bin¹ sau² aa³?

   Which song do you want to sing?

   搞邊科㗎？／搞边科㗎？ [Cantonese]  ―  gaau² bin¹ fo¹ gaa³?   ―  (please add an English translation of this usage example)

2. (Cantonese) where

   你喺邊呀？／你喺边呀？ [Cantonese]  ―  nei⁵ hai² bin¹ aa³?   ―  Where are you?

3. (Cantonese, rhetorical question) how

   我邊記得啫？ [Cantonese, trad.]
   我边记得啫？ [Cantonese, simp.]

   ngo⁵ bin¹ gei³ dak¹ ze¹?

   How am I supposed to remember?

   你邊有做份功課呀？ [Cantonese, trad.]
   你边有做份功课呀？ [Cantonese, simp.]

   nei⁵ bin¹ jau⁵ zou⁶ fan⁶ gung¹ fo³ aa³?

   You did not do this piece of assignment.

   • 明天究竟會如何　邊有得諗咁多 [Cantonese, trad.]
     明天究竟会如何　边有得谂咁多 [Cantonese, simp.]

     From: 2021, 雷同二友 , 碌下碌下

     ming⁴ tin¹ gau³ ging² wui⁵ jyu⁴ ho⁴, bin¹ jau⁵ dak¹ nam² gam³ do¹

     What will tomorrow be like in the end? How can one think about it so much?

Synonyms

• (which):

• (where):

• (how (in rhetorical questions)): 哪 (nǎ), 哪裡／哪里 (nǎlǐ)

Compounds

Japanese

Kanji

(uncommon “Hyōgai” kanji, kyūjitai kanji, shinjitai form 辺)

1. This term needs a translation to English. Please help out and add a translation, then remove the text {{rfdef}}.

Readings

• Go-on: へん (hen)
• Kan-on: へん (hen)
• Kun: あたり (atari, 邊り); ほとり (hotori, 邊り); べ (be); なべ (nabe)

Korean

Hanja

邊 (eumhun 가 변 (ga byeon))

1. Hanja form^? of 변 (“edge”).
2. Hanja form^? of 변 (“side”).

Compounds

• 변경 (邊境, byeon'gyeong, “border”)

Vietnamese

Han character

邊: Hán Nôm readings: biên, ben, bên, ven

1. This term needs a translation to English. Please help out and add a translation, then remove the text {{rfdef}}.