How to Write 番 (fān) — Meaning “Time, turn, or foreign”

Imagine a farmer taking a turn to pick vegetables (釆) from a field (田). Each time he completes a round of picking, that is one 番 (time/turn). This links the shape to the idea of repeated cycles.

The stroke order starts with the top part 釆: 撇, 横, 竖, 撇, 点, 撇, 捺 (7 strokes), then the bottom 田: 竖, 横折, 横, 竖, 横 (5 strokes). A common mistake is writing the top as 采 (cǎi, with a wooden 木 bottom) instead of 釆 (with a dot and a slanting stroke). Keep the top balanced and the 田 slightly narrower.

番 is a top-bottom structure (釆 on top, 田 below), while 畔 is left-right (田 on left, 半 on right) meaning "bank" or "edge." 留 also has a top-bottom shape but with 田 on top and a different lower part (卯-like), meaning "to stay." Visually, 番 has a unique top part that looks like a modified 采.

番 is commonly used as a measure word for times or turns, like 一番 (a time or a kind) and 三番五次 (repeatedly). It also appears in 番茄 (fān qié, tomato), literally "foreign eggplant," reflecting its historical meaning of "foreign." Culturally, 番 once referred to non-Han peoples or foreign lands, a usage still seen in some terms.

Common words containing 番 include: 番茄 (fān qié) — Tomato; 一番 (yī fān) — a kind; a time; a turn; 三番五次 (sān fān wǔ cì) — Time and again; repeatedly.