本
běn HSK1

root

本 běn
classifier measure word
classifier for books, periodicals, files, etc.

桌子上放着三本书。

zhuō​zi shàng fàng zhe sān běn shū.

There are three books on the table.

classifier for books measure word
classifier for books, periodicals, files etc
originally adverb
originally, at first, or initially

我本不想去，但他一定要我去。

wǒ běn bù xiǎng qù, dàn tā yī​dìng yào wǒ qù.

I didn't want to go originally, but he insisted.

this pronoun
one's own, this, or the current time period

本年计划已经完成。

běn nián jì​huà yǐ​jīng wán​chéng.

The plan for this year has been completed.

origin noun
the origin, source, or basis of something

这种办法是治标不治本。

zhè zhǒng bàn​fǎ shì zhì​biāo bù zhì běn.

This approach treats the symptoms rather than the root cause.

capital noun
financial capital or principal

这笔生意赔了本。

zhè bǐ shēng​yi péi le běn.

This business deal lost money.

memorial pronoun
a formal written report or petition submitted to the emperor in ancient China.

启奏皇上，臣有本奏。

qǐ zòu huáng​shang, chén yǒu běn zòu.

Your Majesty, I have a petition to present.

inherent adverb
original or inherent qualities

诚实守信是一个人的立身之本，必须严格遵守。

chéng​shí shǒu​xìn shì yī gè rén de lì​shēn zhī běn, bì​xū yán​gé zūn​shǒu.

Honesty and trustworthiness are the foundation of one's character and must be strictly upheld.

root noun
the root or stem of a plant

牡丹花属于落叶小灌木，是一种木本植物。

mǔ​dān​huā shǔ​yú luò​yè xiǎo guàn​mù, shì yī zhǒng mù běn zhí​wù.

Peonies are small deciduous shrubs and are a type of woody plant.

Cross-References

Has old variant

Frequency
Character
Written text
92nd most common 2005.7 per million
Movie subtitles
201st most common 876.6 per million appears in 96% of films
Word
Movie subtitles
313.8 per million appears in 60% of films
Written text
825.7 per million

Details
HSK 2.0
Level 1
HSK 3.0
Level 1
Strokes
5
Unicode
U+672C

Sources
Definitions
CC-CEDICT
Frequency data
MTSU Chinese text computingSUBTLEX-CHBCC Corpus (BLCU)