懂中文 Dong Chinese

帮

bāng

help

Original meaning: 

side of a shoe

Phonosemantic compound. 巾 represents the meaning and 邦 represents the sound. Simplified form of 幫. Based on the original meaning "side of a shoe". The current meaning is a phonetic loan.

Components
巾 meaning component

巾  Meaning component

jīn

  

cloth

邦 sound component

邦  Sound component

bāng

  

nation

Evolution

帮 Traditional script Modern

Traditional script

Modern
帮 Simplified script Modern

Simplified script

Modern
Definitions

帮 (幫) 

bāng

to help, assist; to defend; shoe upper; to help; to assist; to support; for sb (i.e. as a help); hired (as worker); side (of pail, boat etc); outer layer; upper (of a shoe); group; gang; clique; party; secret society

帮 (幇) 

bāng

old variant of 幫|帮[bāng]

Most common words with 帮
Freq.
Word
Meaning

帮

to help

帮助

aid

帮忙

to help

四人帮

Gang of Four: Jiang Qing 江青, Zhang Chunqiao 張春橋, Yao Wenyuan 姚文元, Wang Hongwen 王洪文, who served as scapegoats for the excesses of the cultural revolution

黑帮

criminal gang