entries → 翻
TSUMUGU · B1 (est.) · 字
翻 character · B1 (est.)
翻 ＝ 番 ＋ 羽
ㄈㄢ · fān
verb — to turn over, flip; to translate; to rummage; to overturn

字源 FORM — what the parts do

番聲fān — gives the sounda paw-print pressed into a field — turning the soil
羽義wings — a bird turning in the air
Wings (羽) turning a body over in flight — the original is to fly, to flip in the air. 番 fān carries the sound, itself a paw-print turning over a patch of earth. From the flip in the air come all the turnings-over: 翻身、翻滾、翻譯 (turning one tongue into another), 翻案.

故事 STORY — a scene to remember it by

一隻鳥展開翅膀（羽），在空中一個翻身（番）——上下就倒了過來。
A bird spreads its wings (羽) and rolls (番) in mid-air — and over it goes.
字源記憶法
意 · Meanings
(本義)翻飛— to fly, turn over in the air
→翻身、翻動— to flip, turn over常用
⇒翻譯— to translate — turn one language into another常用
⇒翻案— to overturn, reverse
(本義) original meaning · → ⇒ each arrow = one more step of extension
關 · Related
番fānthe bare phonetic — 番 stands alone for a turn or a foreign place; 翻 adds wings 羽飜fānthe old variant — 飜 swaps the wings 羽 for flight 飛, same word