<p>伴  is a <a href="https://baike.baidu.com/item/%E5%BD%A2%E5%A3%B0%E5%AD%97" rel="nofollow noreferrer">形聲字</a> (Semantic-phonetic compound character) </p>

<p>The 亻 radical means 人 (person/ people) ; it is the semantic component of the character '伴' ( the word 'companion' is related to 'people') </p>

<p>半(bàn) is the phonetic component of the character 伴(bàn)</p>

<blockquote>
  <p><em>Is it true that 伴 comes from the word, 半(half) and thus can be interpreted as (significant other person)?</em></p>
</blockquote>

<p>No, you can have many companions, and a servant accompanies you is not your significant other</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-12-10T15:37:03.700Z
2017-12-10T21:19:38.137Z
2017-12-10T21:19:38.137Z
Tang Ho
<p>Is it true that 伴 comes from the word, 半(half) and thus can be interpreted as (significant other person)?</p>

<characters><etymology><radicals><glyph-origin>
Why is 伴 used for buddy?
# Why is 伴 used for buddy?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2017-12-10)

Is it true that 伴 comes from the word, 半(half) and thus can be interpreted as (significant other person)?

**Tags:** characters, etymology, radicals, glyph-origin


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## 1 answers

### Answer by username_1 on 2017-12-10. Score: 4 | Accepted answer

伴 is a [形聲字](https://baike.baidu.com/item/%E5%BD%A2%E5%A3%B0%E5%AD%97) (Semantic-phonetic compound character)

The 亻 radical means 人 (person/ people) ; it is the semantic component of the character '伴' ( the word 'companion' is related to 'people')

半(bàn) is the phonetic component of the character 伴(bàn)

> *Is it true that 伴 comes from the word, 半(half) and thus can be interpreted as (significant other person)?*

No, you can have many companions, and a servant accompanies you is not your significant other


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