弁 means “speech, dialect, valve”

べん · ben

Also: petal, braid

Kun'yomi (Japanese reading): かんむり, わきまえる, わける, はなびら, あらそう
On'yomi (Chinese reading): ベン, ヘン

JLPT N1 · Taught in grade 5 · 5 strokes

The story

弁 stands in for three old kanji: 辯, to speak or argue, 辨, to tell apart or provide, and 瓣, a petal or valve. So a 弁護士 argues your case, 関西弁 is how Kansai speaks, a 弁当 is lunch provided in a box, and 安全弁 is a safety valve.

Used in 弁護士 (bengoshi, lawyer), 弁当 (bentou, boxed lunch), and 関西弁 (kansaiben, Kansai dialect)

弁 means “speech, dialect, valve”

The story

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