How to Write 浜 (bāng) — Meaning “creek; stream; ditch”

Imagine a soldier (兵) wading through a small creek (氵), struggling to cross the water. The picture of a soldier in a stream helps link the parts to the meaning 'creek' or 'stream'. This visual story makes the character easier to recall.

Write the water radical 氵 first with three strokes: dot, dot, and a short lift. Then write the right side 兵 starting with a left-falling stroke, a horizontal, a vertical, another horizontal, a vertical, then a left-falling stroke and a dot at the end. Keep the left side narrow and the right side slightly wider to balance the character.

浜 has the water radical plus 兵 (soldier), while 沫 has water with 末 (end) and means 'foam'. 沭 has water with 术 (art) and is used as a river name. Visually, 浜's right side has a vertical line through the middle, whereas 沫's right side has a longer top horizontal line, and 沭's right side has a dot above a horizontal line.

浜 is not a common character in standard Mandarin and is not in the HSK list. It appears mainly in place names like 洋泾浜 (a historical creek in Shanghai) and in dialect words for a small creek, such as 河浜. The name 洋泾浜 is culturally significant because it gave rise to the term 'Yangjingbang English', referring to Chinese Pidgin English.

Common words containing 浜 include: 河浜 (hé bāng) — creek; small river; 洋泾浜 (yáng jīng bāng) — Pidgin (language).; 浜口 (bāng kǒu) — Bangkou (mouth of a creek).