Character

番

fān HSK 5

番 fān HSK 5

1. foreign country or foreign people
2. measure word: ① time, turn ② kind, sort ③ used for thoughts, words, processes (limited to 一, 几) ④ scoring unit in mahjong or card games ⑤ used after 翻 to indicate doubling
3. 番饼 (a type of foreign-style cake/biscuit)

Words using 番 as fān (3)

1 番茄 fān qié — tomato HSK 5
- 番 foreign, exotic (indicating non-native origin)
- 茄 nightshade family plant (botanical classification)
Example

我喜欢吃番茄炒鸡蛋。

wǒ xǐ huan chī fān qié chǎo jī dàn

I like to eat tomato and scrambled eggs.
2 三番五次 sān fān wǔ cì — time and again HSK 7
- 三 three (indicating multiple times)
- 番 times/occasions (indicating instances)
- 五 five (emphasizing repetition)
- 次 times/instances (reinforcing repetition)
Example

我三番五次地提醒他，他就是不听。

wǒ sān fān wǔ cì de tí xǐng tā tā jiù shì bù tīng

I reminded him time and again, but he just wouldn't listen.
3 翻番 fān fān — to double HSK 7
- 翻 to overturn, to multiply
- 番 times, occurrences (multiplication factor)
Example

今年的销售额翻番了。

jīn nián de xiāo shòu é fān fān le

This year's sales have doubled.

Structure & writing

番 fān — foreign country or foreign people

番 is a component in 2 characters

HSK 4

播 bō to spread, to disseminate 翻 fān to flip over; to overturn; to reverse position

番 is an atomic character — it does not decompose further.

Stroke order