扮 (bàn) is a Chinese character meaning “to play the role of”. It is written from 扌 (hand (radical form)) and 分 (to divide; a share), side by side, and takes 7 strokes.
Build the character for “to play the role of”
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Structure
扌 + 分
Left–right structure
Structure from: 说文解字·手部：扮，从手分聲；现代字形依据 hanzi-writer-data 2.0.1 的七笔几何核验（扌 3 笔 + 分 4 笔）
Memory aid
A hand (扌) hands out (分) a part to play — you put on a costume and become someone else.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
7 strokes
In real words
- 扮演bàn yǎnto play the role of; to act as扮 = bànHSK 5
- 打扮dǎ bànto dress up; to make oneself up扮 = bànHSK 4
Go deeper
All readings
to play the role of
to play the role of; to dress up as; to disguise oneself as
化装成某种形象；扮演某个角色。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 扮演bàn yǎnto play the role of; to act as扮 = bànHSK 5
- 打扮dǎ bànto dress up; to make oneself up扮 = bànHSK 4
Sound component
分 family diverged
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 扮 mean?
扮 (bàn) means to play the role of; to dress up as; to disguise oneself as.
How do you pronounce 扮?
It is pronounced bàn.
What parts is 扮 made of?
扌 (hand (radical form)) and 分 (to divide; a share), side by side. The recorded source is: 说文解字·手部：扮，从手分聲；现代字形依据 hanzi-writer-data 2.0.1 的七笔几何核验（扌 3 笔 + 分 4 笔）. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 扮 have?
7. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 扮?
手. 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 扮?
Common ones are 扮演 and 打扮. The reading of 扮 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.