字 Kanji Decipher

Meaning & readings

flip, turn over, wave, flutter, change (mind)

On’yomi ホン、ハン
Kun’yomi ひるがえ.る、ひるがえ.す

Origin

The kanji combines a wing radical on the right, which points to the meaning of flying or fluttering motion, with a sound hint on the left that suggests how to pronounce it. The wing component makes sense because flipping and waving both involve quick, repeated movements like a bird's wings beating. The left component doesn't contribute to the meaning directly — it's just there to help you remember the sound "ホン" or "ハン". Together, the visual idea of wings moving captures the core sense of turning over, waving, and fluttering.

翻 18 strokes

Components

  • 番 sound hint left
  • 羽 radical right

A sound hint component points at the character’s pronunciation, not its meaning — don’t read a meaning into it.

Common words

  • 翻す ひるがえす to turn over
  • 翻る ひるがえる to flutter (in the wind); to wave
  • 翻案 ほんあん adaptation (of a novel, play, etc.)
  • 翻意 ほんい changing one's mind
  • 翻訳 ほんやく translation
  • 翻弄 ほんろう having at one's mercy; trifling with

Related kanji

Same sound component 番
Same radical

Reference

Strokes
18
Kangxi radical
124
Formation type
Phono-semantic (meaning + sound hint)
Grade
Jōyō (secondary school)
Frequency rank
#1465 (newspapers)
Former JLPT
level 1
Unicode
U+07FFB