HSK Guide

Radical 165to distinguish, to discern; a paw print, a scattering of grain

biàn (fourth tone, falling)

to distinguish, to discern; a paw print, a scattering of grain

Radical 1657 strokes0 characters

Where the shape comes from

Closely related to 辨, to divide, to tell apart, and easy to mistake at a glance for 米, rice, or 采, to pick — a scattering of grain or the splayed toes of a paw print, depending on the account, but in practice a shape whose whole modern job is to be told apart from its look-alikes. It tops 番, a turn, a foreign place, over a field 田, and sits inside 释, to release, to interpret, to explain apart what was tangled together.

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