How to Write 泮 (pàn) — Meaning “To melt / To dissolve”

Picture an ice cube (water radical) cracking into two equal halves (半) as it warms up. The ice is melting — that visual of water splitting in half helps you recall 泮 means to melt or dissolve.

Write the water radical first (dot, dot, lift), then 半: dot, left-falling stroke, two horizontal strokes from left to right, a vertical stroke through the center, and a final bottom horizontal. A common mistake is making the two horizontal strokes of 半 too long or uneven — keep them short and centered.

泮 has 半 (half) on the right and means to melt, while 汊 has 叉 (fork) on the right and means a river branch. The character 㳄 is very rare and not used in modern Chinese; it looks like 泮 but with a different right side (欠 instead of 半) and has no standard meaning.

泮 is not common in daily conversation but appears in literary or historical terms like 冰泮 (ice melting) and 消泮 (to dissolve). 泮宫 refers to an ancient imperial school, so you might see it in texts about traditional Chinese education or poetry.

Common words containing 泮 include: 冰泮 (bīng pàn) — Ice melting; 泮宫 (pàn gōng) — Pangong (ancient school); 消泮 (xiāo pàn) — to melt; to dissolve.