本 5 strokes

本 běn — root; origin; measure word for books

5 strokes · radical 木 · HSK 1

A way to remember it

A tree, 木, with a short mark drawn across its roots to point at them. "Root" became "origin", and 日本 — sun-origin — is how Japan got its Chinese name.

A picture that makes the shape stick — not a claim about the character’s history.

A tree, 木, with a short mark drawn across its roots to point at them.

Words it turns up in

本子日本

Lists it belongs to

一二七八 HSK 1 core characters 86 characters

Characters near this one

Quick check — what does 本 mean?

Reading that mentions 本

5 character pairs every learner mixes up — and the one-line trick for each Never mix these up again