反

🇹🇼🇭🇰🇨🇳🇯🇵🇰🇷

against

HSK 4 N2

fǎn

ハン、ホン、タン、ホ

そ.る、そ.らす、かえ.す、かえ.る、-かえ.る

반, 번

Pictograph of a hand (又) climbing a cliff (厂). Based on original meaning "climb", now written as 扳. The meaning later shifted to "pull" and "reverse".

Components

厂 cliff (radical)+ 又 again =

反 against

厂 Iconic component

hǎn cliff (radical)

"cliff" radical in Chinese characters (Kangxi radical 27), occurring in 原, 历, 压 etc

又 Iconic component

yòu again

and, also, again, in addition

Depicts a hand.

Notes

Historical Evolution

Oracle

(~1250-1000 BC)

Bronze

Late Western Zhou (~800 BC)

Bronze

Late Western Zhou (~800 BC)

Seal

Chu (Warring States: 475-221 BC)

Seal

Chu (Warring States: 475-221 BC)

Seal

Shuowen (~100 AD)

Seal

Shuowen (~100 AD)

Clerical

Qin dynasty (221-206 BC)

Clerical

Western Han dynasty (202 BC-9 AD)

Clerical

Eastern Han dynasty (25-220 AD)

Clerical

Eastern Han dynasty (25-220 AD)

反

Regular

Modern

Chinese

反 [fǎn]

contrary; in reverse; inside out or upside down; to reverse; to return; to oppose; opposite; against; anti-; to rebel; to use analogy; instead; abbr. for 反切[fǎnqiè] phonetic system

Japanese

反、段たん同音

noun

variable measure of fabric (28.8 cm in width); for kimonos: at least 10 m in length; for haori: at least 7.27 m in length; for other clothes: at least 6.06 m in length
300 tsubo (991.74 meters square, 0.24506 acres)
six ken (10.91 m)

反はん同音

prefix anti-
noun antithesis
noun abbrev. fanqie; (explanation) traditional Chinese spelling system in which two characters are used: the first one for the onset, the second one for rhyme and tone