ZHIZHI 知止 · LEARN CHINESE DAILY
便
convenient; then
biàn
9 strokes · 亻 (person radical) + 更 (to change) — a person adjusting things to suit · HSK 2
Where 便 comes from
便 is a person 亻 beside 更 'to change': someone rearranging things until they're comfortable and workable. Convenience is literally a human adjustment.
便 in Chinese culture
方便 'convenient' is also the polite euphemism for using the toilet — 我去方便一下. 便利店 is the convenience store glowing on every corner. Read pián, it forms 便宜 'cheap' — one character, two prices.
Example
方便 fāngbiàn — convenient
坐公共汽车很方便。
Zuò gōnggòng qìchē hěn fāngbiàn.
Taking the bus is very convenient.
How to remember it
A person 亻 changing 更 things to suit — CONVENIENT.
方便面 'convenient noodles' is instant ramen — invented in Japan, but China now eats more of it than any country: tens of billions of 方便 servings a year.
Same sound, different tones
Words unlocked by 便
方便 fāngbiàn
convenient
便宜 piányi
cheap (pián!)
方便面 fāngbiànmiàn
instant noodles
Related characters
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