并 bìng to combine
to combine; at all; to merge
How to remember 并: 丷 horns + 开 open = to combine. The farmer watches two goats lock horns, so he decides to open the gate and to combine both herds.
Component breakdown
并 = 丷 horns + 开 open
- 丷 horns
- 开 open
- 一 one
- 廾 two hands
The farmer watches two goats lock horns, so he decides to open the gate and to combine both herds.
How it came to be
Two people standing side by side, with a line drawn across joining them at the waist. They are not just near each other: the line says they are put together, the sense of alongside.
How it is used
- To combine / side by side, and 'furthermore' - 合并 (hébìng) merge, 并且 (bìngqiě) and moreover, 并列 (bìngliè) rank equally.
- Before a negative it strengthens the denial against expectation: 并不 (bìngbù) / 并非 (bìngfēi) 'not at all / really isn't' - 我并不知道 I really did not know.
- That emphatic 并 (correcting a wrong assumption) is the key usage point.
Characters built with 并
Words with 并
- 并且bìngqiěandHSK 4
- 合并hébìngto mergeHSK 6
- 一并yíbìngto lump togetherHSK 7
- 并列bìnglièto stand side by sideHSK 7
- 并行bìngxíngto proceed in parallelHSK 7
- 并购bìnggòumerger and acquisition (M and A)HSK 7
- 并非bìngfēireally isn'tHSK 7
- 相提并论xiāngtí-bìnglùnto discuss two disparate things togetherHSK 7
- 并发症bìngfāzhèngcomplicationsHSK 8
- 并肩bìngjiānalongsideHSK 8
Example sentences
- 办公室很宽敞，并且很明亮。 Bàngōngshì hěn kuānchang, bìngqiě hěn míngliàng.The office is very spacious and bright.