How to Write 绊 (bàn) — Meaning “To trip, stumble, or hinder”

Picture a rope (纟) tied around half (半) of your leg, causing you to trip and fall. This visual of being tangled and stumbling helps link the components to the meaning of 'to trip or hinder'.

Write the left radical 纟 with three strokes: a horizontal fold, then a vertical fold with a hook, then a short horizontal line. The right side 半 has five strokes: dot, left-falling stroke, horizontal, vertical, and horizontal. Avoid making the right side too wide or placing the dot incorrectly.

绊 has right component 半 (half) and means to trip or hinder. 纡 (yū) means winding or circuitous and uses 于, while 红 (hóng) means red and uses 工. Unlike 红 which is common in everyday language, 绊 is used mainly in words about obstacles.

绊 appears in compounds like 绊倒 (to trip and fall) and 绊脚石 (literally 'stumbling stone,' meaning an obstacle). It is not an HSK character, so you will mostly see it in written Chinese, metaphors, or formal contexts rather than casual speech.

Common words containing 绊 include: 绊倒 (bàn dǎo) — To trip and fall; 绊脚石 (bàn jiǎo shí) — Stumbling block or obstacle; 牵绊 (qiān bàn) — To be tied down / Hinderance.