弯
wān · HSK 4
to bend
🛣️ sounds like 'one' (wān) — one curve in the road
弯 means to bend or a turn in the road. The character contains 弓 (bow) at the bottom, evoking the curved shape of an archer's bow — a bent form. Pinyin wān rhymes with English 'wan-der', which often involves turns.
弯 — bow 弓 + 䜌 (phonetic)
A phono-semantic compound: 弓 (bow) gives the meaning 'curved, bent,' since a drawn bow forms an arc, while 䜌 supplies the sound. The simplified form 弯 keeps 弓 below a reduced top component. The core sense has always been 'bend' or 'curve.'