How to Write 辩 (biàn) — Meaning “to argue; to debate; to defend.”

Imagine two people with bitter expressions (辛) facing each other and speaking (讠) angrily. This visual of two bitter speakers arguing helps you remember that 辩 means "to debate."

Write the left 辛 first (7 strokes), then the middle 讠 (2 strokes), then the right 辛 (7 strokes). Keep the two 辛 parts similar in size and the 讠 centered and smaller; a common mistake is making the middle too large or forgetting the dot in 讠.

辣 (là, spicy) has 辛 on the left and 束 (bundle) on the right, while 辩 has 辛 on both sides with 讠 in the middle. 辥 (xuè) is rare and contains only one 辛 on top, with a different bottom part; 辩 always has two 辛.

You often see 辩 in words like 辩论 (debate), 争辩 (argue), and 答辩 (defend a thesis). It is used in formal contexts such as academic defenses, legal arguments, and school debate competitions.

Common words containing 辩 include: 辩论 (biàn lùn) — to debate; argument.; 争辩 (zhēng biàn) — to argue or debate; 答辩 (dá biàn) — To defend (a thesis/argument); defense.