便當

See also: 便当 and 弁当

Chinese

		easy, convenient	to be regarded as
trad. (便當)		便	當
simp. (便当)		便	当

Etymology 1

Pronunciation

• Mandarin

  (Pinyin): biàndang

  (Zhuyin): ㄅㄧㄢˋ ˙ㄉㄤ

• Cantonese (Jyutping): bin⁶ dong³
• Wu (Northern, Wugniu): ⁶bi-taon₅ / ²bie₆-taon₅ / ⁶bie-taon₅

---

• Mandarin
  • (Standard Chinese)⁺
    • Hanyu Pinyin: biàndang
    • Zhuyin: ㄅㄧㄢˋ ˙ㄉㄤ
    • Tongyong Pinyin: biàndång
    • Wade–Giles: pien⁴-tang⁵
    • Yale: byàn-dang
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: biann.dang
    • Palladius: бяньдан (bjanʹdan)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /pi̯ɛn⁵¹ d̥ɑŋ¹/
• Cantonese
  • (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)⁺
    • Jyutping: bin⁶ dong³
    • Yale: bihn dong
    • Cantonese Pinyin: bin⁶ dong³
    • Guangdong Romanization: bin⁶ dong³
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /piːn²² tɔːŋ³³/
• Wu
  • (Northern: Shanghai)
    • Wugniu: ⁶bi-taon₅
    • MiniDict: bi^去 taon^去
    • Wiktionary Romanisation (Shanghai): ³bi-taan₂
    • Sinological IPA (Shanghai): /bi²² tɑ̃⁴⁴/
  • (Northern: Suzhou)
    • Wugniu: ²bie₆-taon₅
    • MiniDict: bie^去 taon^去
    • Sinological IPA (Suzhou): /bɪ²² tɑ̃³³/
  • (Northern: Jiaxing)
    • Wugniu: ⁶bie-taon₅
    • MiniDict: bie^去 taon^去
    • Sinological IPA (Jiaxing): /bie¹³ tɑ̃²¹/

Adjective

便當

1. (regional) convenient; easy

   • 幸喜本日刮的是北風，所以向東向西都是旁風，使帆很便當的。 [Written Vernacular Chinese, trad.]
     幸喜本日刮的是北风，所以向东向西都是旁风，使帆很便当的。 [Written Vernacular Chinese, simp.]

     From: 1907 CE, Liu E, The Travels of Lao Can

     Xìngxǐ běnrì guā de shì běifēng, suǒyǐ xiàng dōng xiàng xī dōu shì pángfēng, shǐ fān hěn biàndāng de. [Pinyin]

     (please add an English translation of this quotation)

2. (Can we verify⁽⁺⁾ this sense?) (literary) appropriate

Synonyms

• (convenient):

edit

• 便利 (biànlì)
• 便宜 (biànyí)
• 便易 (bīng-ĭ) (Northern Min)
• 便民 (biànmín) (attributive, of a shop, service, etc.)
• 利便 (Hokkien, literary or Hakka)
• 就手 (zau⁶ sau²) (Cantonese)
• 快便 (Quanzhou Hokkien, Xiamen Hokkien)
• 方便 (fāngbiàn)
• 省事 (shěngshì)
• 簡便／简便 (jiǎnbiàn)
• 順手／顺手 (shùnshǒu)

 

Conjunction

便當

1. even if

Synonyms

• 即便 (jíbiàn)
• 就算 (jiùsuàn)

Descendants

Sino-Xenic (弁当):

• → Japanese: 弁当(べんとう) (bentō)

Etymology 2

Orthographic borrowing from Japanese 弁当(べんとう) (bentō), which was in turn a semantic readaptation of Chinese 便當／便当 (biàndang, “convenient”).

Pronunciation

• Mandarin

  (Pinyin): biàndāng

  (Zhuyin): ㄅㄧㄢˋ ㄉㄤ

• Cantonese (Jyutping): bin⁶ dong³
• Hakka

  (Sixian, PFS): phien-tông

  (Hailu, HRS): pien^˖ dong^ˋ

• Southern Min (Hokkien, POJ): piān-tong
• Wu (Shanghai, Wugniu): ⁶bi-taon₅

---

• Mandarin
  • (Standard Chinese)⁺
    • Hanyu Pinyin: biàndāng
    • Zhuyin: ㄅㄧㄢˋ ㄉㄤ
    • Tongyong Pinyin: biàndang
    • Wade–Giles: pien⁴-tang¹
    • Yale: byàn-dāng
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: bianndang
    • Palladius: бяньдан (bjanʹdan)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /pi̯ɛn⁵¹ tɑŋ⁵⁵/
• Cantonese
  • (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)⁺
    • Jyutping: bin⁶ dong³
    • Yale: bihn dong
    • Cantonese Pinyin: bin⁶ dong³
    • Guangdong Romanization: bin⁶ dong³
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /piːn²² tɔːŋ³³/
• Hakka
  • (Sixian, incl. Miaoli and Neipu)
    • Pha̍k-fa-sṳ: phien-tông
    • Hakka Romanization System: pien dong^ˊ
    • Hagfa Pinyim: pian⁴ dong¹
    • Sinological IPA: /pʰi̯en⁵⁵ toŋ²⁴/
  • (Hailu, incl. Zhudong)
    • Hakka Romanization System: pien^˖ dong^ˋ
    • Sinological IPA: /pʰien³³ toŋ⁵³/
• Southern Min
  • (Hokkien)
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: piān-tong
    • Tâi-lô: piān-tong
    • Phofsit Daibuun: piexndofng
    • IPA (Xiamen): /piɛn²²⁻²¹ tɔŋ⁴⁴/
    • IPA (Quanzhou): /piɛn⁴¹⁻²² tɔŋ³³/
    • IPA (Zhangzhou): /piɛn²²⁻²¹ tɔŋ⁴⁴/
    • IPA (Taipei): /piɛn³³⁻¹¹ tɔŋ⁴⁴/
    • IPA (Kaohsiung): /piɛn³³⁻²¹ tɔŋ⁴⁴/
• Wu
  • (Northern: Shanghai)
    • Wugniu: ⁶bi-taon₅
    • MiniDict: bi^去 taon^去
    • Wiktionary Romanisation (Shanghai): ³bi-taan₂
    • Sinological IPA (Shanghai): /bi²² tɑ̃⁴⁴/

Noun

便當

1. (originally Taiwanese Mandarin) bento; lunchbox

Synonyms

Dialectal synonyms of 盒飯 (“boxed meal; takeaway food”) [map]

Variety	Location	Words edit
Formal (Written Standard Chinese)		盒飯
Northeastern Mandarin	Taiwan	便當, 飯盒
	Singapore	飯盒, 便當
Jilu Mandarin	Jinan	盒飯
Southwestern Mandarin	Guilin	盒飯
Cantonese	Hong Kong	飯盒
	Macau	飯盒
	Dongguan	盒飯, 盒仔飯
Southern Min	Taipei	便當盒仔, 便當 GT, 飯盒仔 GT
	New Taipei (Sanxia)	飯包
	Kaohsiung	便當篋仔, 飯篋仔
	Yilan	便當篋仔
	Taichung	便當盒仔
	Tainan	盒仔, 飯篋仔
	Hsinchu	便當盒仔
	Kinmen	飯盒
	Penghu (Magong)	飯盒
	Penang (Hokkien)	包飯
	Singapore (Hokkien)	飯盒
Note	GT - General Taiwanese (no specific region identified)

• (Hakka) 飯篼仔／饭篼仔

Derived terms

• 御便當／御便当 (yùbiàndāng)
• 火車便當／火车便当 (huǒchē biàndāng)
• 鐵路便當／铁路便当
• 領便當／领便当 (lǐng biàndāng)

 

Verb

便當

1. (slang) Synonym of 領便當／领便当 (lǐng biàndāng)