Declan

The Language Learning App Company

The Chinese word

本
is pronounced
běn | ben3
means
roots or stems of plants, origin, source, this, the current, root, foundation, basis, (a measure word)
Examples:
书桌上有几本书。
shū zhuō shàng yǒu jī běn shū.
There are some books on the desk.
我能借这本书吗？
wo3 neng2 jie4 zhe4 ben3 shu1 ma2?
May I borrow this book?
去年她离开了日本。
qù nián tā lí kāi liǎo rì běn.
She was out of Japan last year. | Last year she left Japan.
日本人放弃了战争。
rì běn rén fàng qì liǎo zhàn zhēng.
The Japanese people have renounced war.
日本的首都是东京。
rì běn de shǒu dū shì dōng jīng.
The capital of Japan is Tokyo.
这本书有精美的插图。
zhè běn shū yǒu jīng měi de chā tú.
This book is beautifully illustrated.
我发现读这本书很难。
wo3 fa1 xian4 du2 zhe4 ben3 shu1 hen3 nan2.
I find this book is very difficult to read.
他说的话根本毫无意义。
ta1 shuo1 de hua4 gen1 ben3 hao2 wu2 yi4 yi4.
The things he says are not the least bit important. | The things he says are entirely inconsequential. | What he says is total nonsense.
你是中国人还是日本人？
ni3 shi4 zhong1 guo2 ren2 huan2 shi4 ri4 ben3 ren2?
Are you Chinese or Japanese?
我用两千日元买了这本书。
wǒ yòng liǎng qiān rì yuán mǎi liǎo zhè běn shū.
I paid two thousand yen for the book.
我一天也离不开这本字典。
wo3 yi1 tian1 ye3 li2 bu4 kai1 zhe4 ben3 zi4 dian3.
I cannot do without this dictionary even for a single day.
这本书对你来说读起来太难了。
zhè běn shū duì nǐ lái shuō dú qǐ lái tài nán liǎo.
This book is too difficult for you to read.
他是日本最伟大的艺术家之一。
tā shì rì běn zuì wěi dà de yì shù jiā zhī yī.
He is one of the greatest artists in Japan.
我做完我的功课后，就读这本书。
wǒ zuò wán wǒ de gōng kè hòu, jiù dú zhè běn shū.
I read the book after I had finished my homework. | This is the book I read after finishing my homework.
每年有成千上万的外国人访问日本。
měi nián yǒu chéng qiān shàng wàn de wài guó rén fǎng wèn rì běn.
Thousands of foreigners visit Japan every year.
我们希望在不久的将来邀请彼得去日本。
wǒ mén xī wàng zài bù jiǔ de jiāng lái yāo qǐng bǐ dé qù rì běn.
We wish to invite Peter to Japan in the near future.
据说《哈姆雷特》是写出来的最有意思的剧本。
jù shuō 《 hā mǔ léi tè 》 shì xiě chū lái de zuì yǒu yì sī de jù běn.
It is said that "Hamlet" is the most interesting play ever written.
很可能等待着我们的幸福根本不是我们要的那种幸福。
hen3 ke3 neng2 deng3 dai4 zhuo2 wo3 men2 de xing4 fu2 gen1 ben3 bu4 shi4 wo3 men2 yao4 de na4 zhong3 xing4 fu2.
It may be that the happiness awaiting us is not at all the sort of happiness we would want.
他对日本的历史非常感兴趣。我们很惊讶他在这方面的丰富知识。
tā duì rì běn de lì shǐ fēi cháng gǎn xīng qù.wǒ mén hěn jīng yà tā zài zhè fāng miàn de fēng fù zhī shí.
He is very much interested in Japanese history. We are surprised at his vast knowledge of the subject.
Examples sourced from tatoeba.org