本

běn

HSK 1, 5

本 — běn

1. classifier for books, periodicals, files, volumes

   我买了三本书。 wǒ mǎi le sān běnshū — I bought three books.

2. root; stem (of a plant); basis; origin

   问题的本源还没有找到。 wèntí de běnyuán hái méiyǒu zhǎodào — The root cause of the problem hasn't been found yet.

3. original; inherent; inherent quality

   这个观点有其本来的局限性。 zhège guāndiǎn yǒu qí běnlái de júxiànxìng — This viewpoint has its original/inherent limitations.

4. (bound form) one's own; this; the current (year etc)

   本公司将于下月搬迁。 běn gōngsī jiāng yú xiàyuè bānqiān — Our company will move next month.

5. originally; initially

   本来我们打算早点出发。 běnlái wǒmen dǎsuàn zǎodiǎn chūfā — Originally we planned to leave earlier.

6. capital; principal (as in funds or head office)

   公司需要增加本钱才能扩大经营。 gōngsī xūyào zēngjiā běnqián cáinéng kuòdà jīngyíng — The company needs to increase its capital to expand operations.