Chinese symbol for “root”
本
běn
(bound form) root; stem; (bound form) origin; source; (bound form) one's own; this; (bound form) this; the current (year etc)
The closest CC-CEDICT match for root is 本 (běn), defined as: (bound form) root; stem; (bound form) origin; source; (bound form) one's own; this; (bound form) this; the current (year etc); (bound form) original; (bound form) inherent.
Before using these characters for a tattoo, check them with a native speaker. Dictionary words often have several meanings, and the right choice depends on context.
Characters and stroke order
Other Chinese words for “root”
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 根 | gēn | root; basis |
| 源 | yuán | root; source |
| 根本 | gēn běn | fundamental; basic |
| 根柢 | gēn dǐ | root; foundation |
| 根源 | gēn yuán | origin; root (cause) |
Related words
Other words that share a character with 本.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 根本 | gēn běn | fundamental; basic |
| 基本 | jī běn | basic; fundamental |
| 版本 | bǎn běn | version; edition |
| 资本 (資本) | zī běn | capital (economics) |
| 本来 (本來) | běn lái | original; originally |
| 本身 | běn shēn | itself; in itself |
See also: Japanese symbol for “root”.
Data: CC-CEDICT (CC BY-SA 4.0); Unihan Database (Unicode License v3); Make Me a Hanzi (Arphic Public License (graphics.txt); LGPL-3.0-or-later (dictionary.txt)); wordfreq (CC BY-SA 4.0 (data)). Retrieved 2026-10-22.