How to Write 苯 (běn) — Meaning “Benzene”

Picture a green plant (艹) growing from a "root" (本) — this reminds you that benzene (苯) is a basic organic chemical from plants. You can also think: "Ben (本) has a green hat (艹), so he is Ben-zeen." The mnemonic links the character's sound and plant-like origin.

Write the grass radical 艹 first with a horizontal stroke then two vertical strokes (or three strokes: horizontal, vertical, left-falling). Then add 本: start with the horizontal, then vertical through the middle, then left-falling, right-falling, and finally the two horizontal strokes at bottom-right. Common mistakes include making the grass radical too wide or forgetting the bottom horizontal strokes of 本.

苯 (běn) means benzene — a chemical compound, while 兹 (zī, cī) means "now" or "this" and has a different bottom part (玄 plus 艹). 艻 (lè) is a rare character meaning a type of grass, and it lacks the 本 component. Visually, 苯 has a clear 本 bottom; 兹 has 玄; 艻 has 力 below the grass.

苯 is used mainly in chemistry and industry contexts, such as 苯环 (benzene ring) and 甲苯 (toluene). You may see it on chemical labels or in science textbooks. It is not a common daily-life character, but it appears in news about pollution or chemical safety.

Common words containing 苯 include: 苯 (běn) — Benzene; 甲苯 (jiǎ běn) — toluene; 苯环 (běn huán) — Benzene ring.