Chinese word

扮

Pronunciation

Pinyinbàn

Meaning

  • verbdress up as

Example

孩子们在万圣节会扮成各种人物。hái zi men zài wàn shèng jié huì bàn chéng gè zhǒng rén wù

The children dress up as various characters on Halloween.

Illustration for 扮 (dress up as)

More examples

她在电话里扮得很自信，实际上很紧张。tā zài diàn huà lǐ bàn de hěn zì xìn shí jì shàng hěn jǐn zhāng

She pretended to be confident on the phone, but was actually very nervous.

Core concept

An outer costume makes an ordinary person look like a chosen character, whether onstage or in play.

Common phrases

  • 扮成bàn chéng

    dress up as

  • 扮得很自信bàn de hěn zì xìn

    pretend to be confident

Similar words

扮演bàn yǎn: Perform the role of a character in a play, film, or other show.
假装jiǎ zhuāng: Pretend to be someone or something else by showing a false appearance or manner.
打扮dǎ bàn: Arrange clothing or hair to make the appearance look neat or attractive.
伪装wěi zhuāng: Change an appearance or form to hide a true identity or purpose.

Definition in Chinese

用衣服、化妆、道具等改变外表，装扮成另外一个人或角色。yòng yī fú huà zhuāng dào jù děng gǎi biàn wài biǎo zhuāng bàn chéng lìng wài yí gè rén huò jué sè

Word origin

扮 (bàn, "dress up as") is a semantic-phonetic character: 扌 (shǒu, "hand") signals an action, while 分 (fēn, "divide") supplies the pronunciation.

Usage tips

  • The verb covers both stage performances and informal role-play, so it describes a child taking on a fictional character at a costume party without suggesting deception in ordinary life.

Other meanings

  • actverb
  • pretend to beverb

Opposites

  • 揭穿jiē chuānexposeverb

Related words

  • 假扮jiǎ bàndisguise oneself asverb
  • 扮作bàn zuòpretend to beverb

Word lists with this word