盘 (pán) is a Chinese character meaning “plate”. It is written from 舟 (boat) and 皿 (dish; vessel), one above the other, and takes 11 strokes.
Build the character for “plate; tray”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
舟 + 皿
Top–bottom structure
Structure from: Unicode U+76D8（盤的简化字；繁体 盤 从皿般聲）与 hanzi-writer-data 现代字形笔画核验：0-5 为「舟」6 画，6-10 为「皿」5 画，共 11 画
Memory aid
A little boat (舟) resting on top of a dish (皿) — picture a wide, flat plate big enough to float a boat: a plate or tray.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
11 strokes
In real words
- 盘子pán zǐplate; dish; tray盘 = pánspoken aspán zi
- 键盘jiàn pánkeyboard盘 = pán
Go deeper
All readings
plate; tray
plate; dish; tray; something plate-shaped (a disc, a board); to coil or wind
盛放东西的浅而扁的器具；也指形状或作用像盘的东西，如键盘、光盘；又指回旋、绕。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 盘子pán zǐplate; dish; tray盘 = pánspoken aspán zi
- 键盘jiàn pánkeyboard盘 = pán
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 盘 mean?
盘 (pán) means plate; dish; tray; something plate-shaped (a disc, a board); to coil or wind.
How do you pronounce 盘?
It is pronounced pán.
What parts is 盘 made of?
舟 (boat) and 皿 (dish; vessel), one above the other. The recorded source is: Unicode U+76D8（盤的简化字；繁体 盤 从皿般聲）与 hanzi-writer-data 现代字形笔画核验：0-5 为「舟」6 画，6-10 为「皿」5 画，共 11 画. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 盘 have?
11. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 盘?
皿. 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 盘?
Common ones are 盘子 and 键盘. The reading of 盘 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.