傍 means “beside, side”

かたわら · katawara

Also: bystander, besides, while

Kun'yomi (Japanese reading)

かたわら, わき, おか-, はた, そば

On'yomi (Chinese reading)

ボウ

JLPT N1 · Taught in secondary school · 12 strokes

The story

A person (亻) beside 旁, the word for the right-hand part of a kanji: someone at your elbow, close but not involved. 傍ら is beside, 傍観 is looking on, and 傍線 is the line drawn beside vertical text on exam papers.

Used in 傍ら (katawara, beside/while), 傍観 (boukan, looking on), and 傍線 (bousen, sideline/underline)

More from Shapes & Angles

• 塊 lump
• 孔 hole
• 凸 convex
• 凹 concave
• 弧 arc
• 隙 gap
• 環 ring
• 枠 frame
• 端 edge
• 距 distance
• 圏 sphere
• 縦 vertical

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Readings from KANJIDIC2, © EDRDG, CC BY-SA.