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弁: conical cap

 

弁 biàn


: conical cap worn during Zhou dynasty

Kun Reading

弁え | わきまえ wakimae

noun
: sense; discretion; knowledge

弁える | わきまえる wakimaeru

ichidan verb | transitive verb
: to know (right from wrong); to discern; to discriminate; to understand; to bear in mind

弁じる | べんじる benjiru

ichidan verb | intransitive verb
: to speak; to talk; to argue; to manage; to dispose of; to carry through; to distinguish; to discriminate

弁ずる | べんずる benzuru

zuru verb
: to manage; to dispose of; to carry through; to distinguish; to discriminate

弁えのない | わきまえのない wakimaenonai

adjective
: indiscreet; undiscerning

On Reading

弁 | べん ben

noun
: speech; talk; tongue; eloquence
: (Noun suffix) dialect; accent
: petal
: valve
: Oversight Department (division of the daijokan responsible for controlling central and provincial governmental offices)

 Usage:

辨別[别] bian4bie2: to differentiate; to distinguish; to discriminate
[弁別 | べんべつ benbetsu: discriminate]
辨明 bian4ming2: to clarify; to distinguish; to elucidate
[弁明 | べんめい benmei: explanation; excuse; vindication; apology]
辯論[辩论] bian4lun4: debate; argument; to argue over
[弁論 | べんろん benron: discussion; debate; argument]
辯護[辩护] bian4hu4: to speak in defense of; to argue in favor of; to defend; to plead
[弁護 | べんご bengo: defense; pleading; advocacy]
辯[辩]解 bian4jie3: to explain; to justify; to defend (a point of view etc); to provide an explanation; to try to defend oneself
[弁解 | べんかい benkai: justification; rationalization; pretext; explanation; exculpation; defense; excuse]
お弁当 | おべんとう o-bentou: Japanese box lunch [c: 便當[当] bian4dang1]

ほか弁 | ほかべん hokaben OR ホカホカ弁当 | ホカホカべんとう hokahoka bentou: hot bento
 
キャラ弁 | キャラべん kyaraben: homemade bento containing food decorated to look like cute characters (from anime, etc.) aka character bento
 
愛妻弁当 | あいさいべんとう aisai bentou: lunchbox made with loving care by one’s wife

弁才 | べんざい benzai OR べんさい bensai OR べざい bezai: eloquence; oratorical talent; (abbreviation) large Japanese junk
弁者 | べんしゃ bensha: speaker; orator
多弁 | たべん taben: talkativeness; verbosity
快弁 | かいべん kaiben: eloquence
内弁慶 | うちべんけい uchibenkei: braggart; someone haughty and boastful at home but meek and reserved outside; a man who is a lion at home and a mouse abroad



Japanese expression / idiom
弁当を使う | べんとうをつかう bentou o tsukau: to eat a boxed lunch

弁が立つ | べんがたつ ben ga tatsu: to be eloquent; to have a way with words

弁慶の立往生 | べんけいのたちおうじょう benkei no tachi oujou
: situation in which one can move neither forward nor backward

多多益益弁ず | たたますますべんず tata masumasu benzu
: The more, the better

沈黙は金雄弁は銀 | ちんもくはきんゆうべんはぎん chinmoku wa kinyuu ben wa gin
OR
雄弁は銀沈黙は金 | ゆうべんはぎんちんもくはきん yuuben wa gin chinmoku wa kin
: Speech is silver, silence is golden

 Etymology:
弁 bian4: conical cap worn during Zhou dynasty =
厶 si1: private, secret; radical 28 +
廾 gong3: two hands; radical 55



Historical variant:
bian4: to distinguish; to recognize
[kun: わきまえ wakimae.
on: べん ben]

 

bian4: to dispute; to argue; to debate; to discuss
[on: べん ben]

simplified: 辩



 Examples:
かいしゃ が にちちゅう ごうべんで けいえい しています
会社が 日中 合弁で 経営しています。
kaisha ga nichichuu gouben de kaiei shiteimasu.
The company is operating under joint Sino-Japanese management.

Resources: Chinese Dictionary | Japanese Dictionary