遍
biàn · HSK 2
classifier for actions: one time
🔁 measure word for actions done from start to finish; one full round
遍 counts complete repetitions of an activity (read once through, watch all the way). Contrast with 次, which counts occurrences without implying completeness. Sound: biàn, same as 便 but with the 辶 walk radical hinting at going all the way through.
遍 — 辶 (walk) + 扁 (flat/phonetic)
遍 is a phono-semantic compound. The 辶 radical signals motion or going, while 扁 supplies the sound (related to biǎn/biàn). The original sense of moving over an area gave rise to the modern meaning 'everywhere' or 'one time through'.