便 (biàn) is a Chinese character meaning “convenient”. It is written from 亻 (person (the form 人 takes on the left)) and 更 (to change; even more; again), side by side, and takes 9 strokes. It has a second reading, pián, which turns up in 便宜 — here the two readings are two separate things to learn, not one card with two answers.
Build the character for “convenient”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
亻 + 更
Left–right structure
Structure from: 说文解字: 便，安也。人有不便更之。从人、更
Memory aid
A person (亻) changes (更) whatever does not suit them — and then everything is convenient.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
9 strokes
In real words
- 方便fāng biànconvenient; to make things easy for someone便 = biànHSK 2
- 随便suí biànas one pleases; casual; anything goes便 = biàn
Go deeper
All readings
convenient
convenient; handy; ordinary; then; as soon as
方便、便利；平常的；也用作书面语的「就」。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 方便fāng biànconvenient; to make things easy for someone便 = biànHSK 2
- 随便suí biànas one pleases; casual; anything goes便 = biàn
cheap (only in 便宜)
cheap; inexpensive — this reading appears almost only in the word 便宜
价钱低。这个读音几乎只出现在「便宜」里。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 便宜pián yícheap; inexpensive便 = piánspoken aspián yiHSK 2
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 便 mean?
便 (biàn) means convenient; handy; ordinary; then; as soon as.
How do you pronounce 便?
Its main reading is biàn. It also has a second reading, pián, which only shows up in certain words such as 便宜 — so the word tells you the reading, not the character on its own.
Why is 便 sometimes pronounced pián?
Because it is a multi-reading character: each reading carries a different sense, and the word decides which one applies. In 便宜 it is read pián.
What parts is 便 made of?
亻 (person (the form 人 takes on the left)) and 更 (to change; even more; again), side by side. The recorded source is: 说文解字: 便，安也。人有不便更之。从人、更. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 便 have?
9. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 便?
人. The radical is how the character is filed in a dictionary — it is not the whole story of how the character is built.
What words use 便?
Common ones are 方便. The reading of 便 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.