Today’s word of the day is 翻 (fān) which means to flip. Let’s practice by making different words, phrases, and sentences with 翻 (fān).
翻译 (fān yì) To translate
The first word is 翻译 (fān yì) which means to translate. A way of using it in a sentence is: 你可以把中文翻译成英文吗？ (Nǐ kěyǐ bǎ zhōngwén fānyì chéng yīngwén ma?) Can you translate Chinese into English?
翻身 (fān shēn) Flip over
Another word we can create with 翻 (fān) is 翻身 (fān shēn). This means to flip over. The 身 here means body, but it doesn’t always have to be used to describe the turning over of one’s body. For example, you can say船翻身沉了下去。(Chuán fānshēn chénle xiàqù.) The ship flipped over and sank. A scene that you saw in the movie Titanic.
翻开 (fān kāi) Flip open
Finally, we can create the word 翻开 (fān kāi) which means ‘to flip open’. The 开 here means open. You may have heard this type of phrase many times at school. 翻开书到第十页。 (Fān kāi shū dào dì shí yè.) Flip your book open to page 10.