How to Write 叛 (pàn) — Meaning “to rebel or betray”

Imagine a group where half (半) the members turn against (反) their leader — that is a rebellion. You can picture the left half splitting off to oppose the right half, making the meaning easy to recall.

Write 叛 by first completing the left part 半 (5 strokes: dot, dot, horizontal, vertical, horizontal), then the right part 反 (4 strokes: left-falling stroke, vertical, horizontal, and the final 又). A common mistake is making 半 too wide or forgetting the second dot at the top.

叛 (rebel) uses 反 on the right, while 叔 (uncle) uses 尗 above a small 又. 叕 is four 又 stacked vertically, meaning "join" or a rare surname. Visually, 叛 has a clear left-right structure with 半 and 反, while the others look quite different.

叛 appears in common words like 背叛 (betray) and 叛逆 (rebellious), often describing disloyalty to a person, group, or country. In Chinese history and literature, 叛 is strongly negative, associated with traitors and rebels who break trust or violate social order.

Common words containing 叛 include: 叛逆 (pàn nì) — rebellious; 背叛 (bèi pàn) — Betray / Betrayal; 叛变 (pàn biàn) — to defect or revolt.