边 — side; edge; margin
side; edge; margin; border; boundary; simultaneously
- Pinyin
- biān · bian
- Strokes
- 5
- HSK level
- HSK 1
- Handwriting
- required
This character has more than one reading — biān, bian — and the pronunciation depends on the word it appears in. The list below gives the syllabus reading for each word.
How to write 边: 5 strokes
Each cell adds one stroke to the previous ones, with the new stroke in red. Stroke order is not decoration: it sets the proportions of the character and makes handwriting legible to a reader. This character is on the HSK handwriting list, so the exam expects you to write it, not only recognise it.
Words with 边 in the HSK syllabus: 21
Every word in the official 2026 syllabus that contains this character, with the level it is introduced at. Learning a character pays off through these: each one combines with the characters you already know.
- 边biānside; edge; margin; border; boundary; simultaneouslyHSK 1
- 那边nàbiānover there; yonderHSK 1
- 外边wàibianoutside; outer surface; abroadHSK 1
- 这边zhèbiānthis side; hereHSK 1
- 旁边pángbiānside; adjacent placeHSK 2
- 右边yòubianright side; right, to the rightHSK 2
- 左边zuǒbianleft; the left side; to the left ofHSK 2
- 路边lùbiāncurb; roadside; waysideHSK 3
- 身边shēnbiānat one's side; on handHSK 3
- 一边yìbiānone side; either side; on the one handHSK 3
- 周边zhōubiānperiphery; rim; perimeter; surroundings; peripheralHSK 6
- 半边天bànbiāntiānhalf the sky; women of the new society; womenfolkHSK 7–9
- 边疆biānjiāngborder area; borderland; frontier; frontier regionHSK 7–9
- 边界biānjièboundary; borderHSK 7–9
- 边境biānjìngfrontier; borderHSK 7–9
- 边缘biānyuánedge; fringe; verge; brink; peripheryHSK 7–9
- 边远biānyuǎnfar from the center; remote; outlyingHSK 7–9
- 单边dānbiānunilateralHSK 7–9
- 多边duōbiānmultilateralHSK 7–9
- 双边shuāngbiānbilateralHSK 7–9
- 无边无际wúbiān-wújìboundless; limitlessHSK 7–9
Glosses come from CC-CEDICT, used under CC BY-SA 4.0, and are the dictionary’s first sense rather than a translation chosen for context.