Usage note
翻表示翻开、翻过去或翻译。
fān biǎo shì fān kāi 、 fān guò qù huò fān yì。
翻 means to turn over, flip, or translate.
Context note
翻常用于书本、动作和语言。
fān cháng yòng yú shū běn 、 dòng zuò hé yǔ yán。
It is often used with books, actions, and language.
5 examples
请翻开书。
qǐng fān kāi shū。
Please open the book.
他翻了一个身。
tā fān le yí gè shēn。
He turned over once.
请翻译这句话。
qǐng fān yì zhè jù huà。
Please translate this sentence.
她翻找书包。
tā fān zhǎo shū bāo。
She rummages through the schoolbag.
把纸翻过来。
bǎ zhǐ fān guò lái。
Turn the paper over.
5 mini stories
孩子翻开书，认真看图。
hái zi fān kāi shū， rèn zhēn kàn tú。
The child opened the book and looked at the pictures carefully.
他在床上翻来翻去睡不着。
tā zài chuáng shàng fān lái fān qù shuì bù zhe。
He tossed and turned in bed and could not sleep.
老师让大家翻译简单句子。
lǎo shī ràng dà jiā fān yì jiǎn dān jù zi。
The teacher asked everyone to translate simple sentences.
她翻出了旧照片。
tā fān chū le jiù zhào piàn。
She dug out old photos.
把卡片翻过来看看。
bǎ kǎ piàn fān guò lái kàn kàn。
Turn the card over and have a look.
Mini dialogue
翻书
A
请把书翻到第十页。
Qǐng bǎ shū fān dào dì shí yè.
Please turn the book to page ten.
B
好的，我找到了。
Hǎo de, wǒ zhǎo dào le.
Okay, I found it.
小心翻倒
A
风太大了，我的伞被吹翻了。
Fēng tài dà le, wǒ de sǎn bèi chuī fān le.
The wind is so strong, my umbrella got turned inside out.
B
快收起来吧，不然会坏的。
Kuài shōu qǐlái ba, bùrán huì huài de.
Close it quickly, or it will break.
Related words and contrasts
similar
转
zhuǎn
turn; rotate
翻 means to flip or turn over; 转 means to rotate or change direction.
related
掀
xiān
lift; raise
掀 means to lift up, like lifting a lid; 翻 can involve turning something over.
related
倒
dào
pour; tip over
倒 can mean to tip something over, similar to flipping, but often for liquids.