ben (本) — root, origin, this, a book in Chinese

simplified

traditional

běn

root · origin · this · fundamental · capital · a book (measure word)

HSK 1 笔画 5 部首木 (tree) 声调第三声 (dipping) all ben readings →

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笔顺 bǐshùn · Stroke order

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字源 zìyuán Etymology & Structure

字源洞见 zìyuán dòngjiàn · Etymological Insight

本 běn = 木 (mù, tree) + 一 (a marking stroke at the base). It is an indicative character (指事字): a tree, 木, with a short stroke drawn across its lower trunk to point at the roots. The mark does not depict an object; it indicates a location, the part of the tree below ground. So 本 means, from the start, the root. Its mirror image is 末 mò, the same tree with the stroke at the top, indicating the tip of the branches, the far end.

From root, the meanings climb outward:

1. Root, origin, source. The literal base: 本来 běnlái (originally), 根本 gēnběn (fundamental; root), 本质 běnzhì (essence).
2. The fundamental, the basic. What everything else rests on: 基本 jīběn (basic), 本能 běnnéng (instinct), 本事 běnshì (ability, what one is built on).
3. This, one's own. The thing at hand, originating here: 本人 běnrén (oneself; the person in question), 本国 běnguó (one's own country), 本月 běnyuè (this month).
4. Principal, capital, and the bound volume. The original sum that earns interest, 本金 běnjīn; and the book, since a volume is a "base" of written leaves: 课本 kèběn (textbook), 一本书 yì běn shū (one book).

The thread is foundation. Whatever is original, underlying, one's own, or principal traces back to the marked root of the tree: the place a thing starts from and stands on.

构词 gòucí Word-Formation Patterns

构词规律 gòucí guīlǜ · From the Root Outward 本 as root / origin → 本来 originally · 根本 fundamental · 本质 essence · 本源 origin
本 as fundamental → 基本 basic · 本能 instinct · 本事 ability · 本领 skill
本 as this / one's own → 本人 oneself · 本地 local · 本国 one's country · 本月 this month
本 as book / capital → 课本 textbook · 笔记本 notebook · 本子 notebook · 本金 principal

本来 běnlái Root & Origin

本来 běnlái originally; at first; (it goes without saying that)

ADV 副词 fùcí

本 běn (root; origin) + 来 lái (come). What was the case from the start, before things changed: 我本来想去 "I originally meant to go (but didn't)." It often carries a quiet sense that the original state was the natural or proper one.

我本来不想去，后来还是去了。

Wǒ běnlái bù xiǎng qù, hòulái háishi qù le.

I didn't want to go at first, but I went anyway.

这件事本来就很简单。

Zhè jiàn shì běnlái jiù hěn jiǎndān.

This matter was simple to begin with.

根本 gēnběn fundamental; basic; (with a negative) at all

ADJ/ADV 兼类 jiānlèi

根 gēn (root) + 本 běn (root). The two words for "root" doubled. As an adjective, fundamental or essential: 根本问题 "the fundamental issue." As an adverb with a negative, it means "not at all": 我根本不知道 "I had no idea whatsoever."

这是一个根本性的问题。

Zhè shì yí ge gēnběnxìng de wèntí.

This is a fundamental problem.

我根本没听说过。

Wǒ gēnběn méi tīngshuō guò.

I've never heard of it at all.

基本 jīběn The Fundamental

基本 jīběn basic; fundamental; (基本上) basically, on the whole

ADJ 形容词 xíngróngcí

基 jī (foundation) + 本 běn (root). The base layer of something: 基本功 jīběngōng (basic skills), 基本工资 (base salary). The adverb 基本上 jīběnshàng means "basically, by and large."

我基本上同意你的看法。

Wǒ jīběnshàng tóngyì nǐ de kànfǎ.

I basically agree with your view.

本事 běnshi ability; skill; what one is capable of

N 名词 míngcí

本 běn (root; one's own) + 事 shì (matter). The capacities a person carries in themselves, their real skill rather than their luck or connections: 有本事 "to have what it takes." A close synonym is 本领 běnlǐng.

他很有本事，什么都会修。

Tā hěn yǒu běnshi, shénme dōu huì xiū.

He's very capable; he can fix anything.

本人 běnrén oneself; the person in question; I (formal)

PRON 代词 dàicí

本 běn (this; one's own) + 人 rén (person). The very person concerned, as opposed to a representative or a rumor. On forms and in formal speech it means "I myself": 本人同意 "I personally agree."

这件事必须由本人签字。

Zhè jiàn shì bìxū yóu běnrén qiānzì.

This matter must be signed by the person themselves.

课本 kèběn Book & Volume — the Measure Word

语义洞见 yǔyì dòngjiàn · Semantic Insight

A book is a "base," a foundation of bound leaves, and so 本 became both the word for certain kinds of volume and the measure word for counting them. To count books you say 一本书 yì běn shū (one book), 两本词典 (two dictionaries), 几本杂志 (a few magazines). The same 本 names the bound thing itself: 课本 kèběn (textbook), 笔记本 bǐjìběn (notebook, and by extension a laptop), and the plain 本子 běnzi (an exercise book or pad).

The measure word 本 belongs to anything bound between covers: books, notebooks, ledgers, magazines, dictionaries. It is one of the first measure words a learner meets, and it stays useful for a lifetime, because the bound volume never stops being something you reach for and count.

课本 kèběn textbook

N 名词 míngcí

课 kè (lesson) + 本 běn (volume). The book for a course of study. A close synonym is 教科书 jiàokēshū, slightly more formal.

请把课本翻到第十页。

Qǐng bǎ kèběn fān dào dì shí yè.

Please turn your textbook to page ten.

本子 běnzi notebook; exercise book; pad

N 名词 míngcí

本 běn (volume) + 子 zi (suffix). A blank or ruled book to write in. Here 本 takes the toneless noun-suffix 子, exactly as in 桌子 and 房子.

我买了一个新本子。

Wǒ mǎi le yí ge xīn běnzi.

I bought a new notebook.

成语 chéngyǔ Idioms & Set Phrases

本末倒置 běn mò dào zhì to put root and tip in the wrong order: to mistake the essential for the trivial Lit: root-tip-upside-down. 本 (the root) and 末 (the branch-tips) are the two ends of the tree. To reverse them is to spend effort on the minor while neglecting what truly matters.

变本加厉 biàn běn jiā lì to alter the base and pile on more: to grow worse than before, to intensify Lit: change-base-add-severity. Said when behavior that was already bad escalates rather than improving, the original measure exceeded and then redoubled.

本来面目 běn lái miàn mù original face: a thing's true, unaltered nature Lit: original-face-and-features. A Chan Buddhist phrase for one's true self before all conditioning, now used broadly for the real character of anything once the disguises are stripped away.

原原本本 yuán yuán běn běn from source and root: in full and exact detail, from start to finish The doubled 原 (source) and 本 (root). To tell something 原原本本 is to give the whole account faithfully, leaving nothing out and adding nothing.

记忆法 jìyìfǎ · Master Retention Image

See a tree, 木, and watch a single short stroke land across its lower trunk, pointing down at the roots. That stroke is the whole character: 本 is the tree's root, the place it starts from. Its mirror 末, the same tree with the stroke up at the branch-tips, is the far end. Keep root and tip straight and you will never reverse 本末.

From the root grows everything 本 means: what was there originally (本来), what underlies all the rest (基本), the thing or person at hand (本人), and the bound volume you build knowledge on and count one by one (一本书). Whatever is foundational traces back to that marked root.