How to Write 潘 (pān) — Meaning “Pan (a common surname)”

Picture a cooking pan (sounds like "Pan") floating on water, because the left side 氵 means water. This visual of a pan on water helps you link the pronunciation to the water radical. Just remember that the character is a surname, not the kitchen tool itself.

Write the left radical 氵 as three close, slightly slanted dots. The right part 番 has 12 strokes; the top is 釆 (not 采) — start with a leftward slant stroke, then a dot, a short horizontal, and a left-falling stroke. A common mistake is to make the right side too wide or to confuse the top with 采.

潘 has the water radical and the right side 番, while 溏 has 唐 (meaning "pond") and 源 has 原 (meaning "source"). Only 潘 is used as a surname; 溏 and 源 are common nouns. Visually, look at the right side: 番 is simpler with a clear "rice field" shape, while 唐 and 原 have extra strokes.

潘 is one of the most common Chinese surnames, ranked in the top 50. It is used in polite forms like 潘老师 (Teacher Pan) and 潘先生 (Mr. Pan). It has no other common meanings — it is purely a family name, so you will almost always encounter it as part of a person's full name.

Common words containing 潘 include: 潘老师 (pān lǎo shī) — Teacher Pan; 潘先生 (pān xiān shēng) — Mr. Pan; 姓潘 (xìng pān) — Surname Pan.