CJK Unified Ideograph-5Fa7

It means “all around,” “throughout,” or “everywhere.” As of 2026-09-13, the earliest exact source verified is the Shuowen Jiezi entry, compiled around c. 100 CE; checked sources did not establish an earlier oracle- or bronze-inscription attestation. It analyzes 徧 as 彳 plus 扁 and glosses it as going around, so the graph was made for movement across a whole area.

Classical citations preserve that scope reading: 徧于羣神 reaches all the spirits, 羣黎百姓，徧爲爾德 extends virtue to the people, and 樂及徧舞 reaches every dance. Before a group or activity, 徧 works adverbially; the related form 遍 also carries the measure-word sense of one complete pass.

Why is 徧 usually written as 遍?

Use 遍 for ordinary modern Chinese; 徧 is its variant form. The relationship is historical, not a visual guess: 徧 is the 彳-form recorded in Shuowen, while 遍 uses 辵/辶 and is documented as the popular form. The meaning stayed “throughout”; the expected written shape changed.

As of 2026-09-13, the documented standard-writing answer is simple: preserve 徧 when quoting or studying an older text, but choose 遍 for a current sentence unless a source requires the variant. If you receive 徧 in a quotation, read it as 遍, not as a separate modern word.