斑 (bān) is a Chinese character meaning “spot”. It is written from 王 (king) and 文 (writing; script; culture) and 王 (king), and takes 12 strokes.
Build the character for “spot; stripe”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
王 + 文 + 王
Left–middle–right structure
Structure from: IDS ⿲王文王 (cjkvi-ids, build-time only), checked stroke-by-stroke against hanzi-writer-data: 王[0-3] 文[4-7] 王[8-11]
Memory aid
A piece of jade (王) on each side with a pattern (文) in the middle — spotted, streaked markings like a zebra’s stripes. This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
12 strokes
In real words
- 斑点bān diǎnspot; stain; speckle斑 = bān
- 斑马bān mǎzebra斑 = bān
Go deeper
All readings
spot; stripe
spot; speck; stripe; spotted; mottled
斑点或斑纹；颜色驳杂的。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 斑点bān diǎnspot; stain; speckle斑 = bān
- 斑马bān mǎzebra斑 = bān
Easy to confuse with
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 斑 mean?
斑 (bān) means spot; speck; stripe; spotted; mottled.
How do you pronounce 斑?
It is pronounced bān.
What parts is 斑 made of?
王 (king) and 文 (writing; script; culture) and 王 (king). The recorded source is: IDS ⿲王文王 (cjkvi-ids, build-time only), checked stroke-by-stroke against hanzi-writer-data: 王[0-3] 文[4-7] 王[8-11]. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 斑 have?
12. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 斑?
文. 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 斑?
Common ones are 斑点 and 斑马. The reading of 斑 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.