Taxonomy of meanings for 反:　　

Additional information about 反

說文解字: 【反】，覆也。从又、厂，反形。 【府遠切】 【𠬡】，古文。 〔小徐本作「古文反。」〕

Criteria
• CONTRARY
  

  1. The current word for being logically or practically opposed to something else is fǎn 反 (ant. tóng 同 "agree with, go along with").

  2. Guāi 乖 refers to any kind of practical contradiction or opposition, also opposition to what is current and acceptable. See WICKED

  2. Bèi 悖 (ant. xié 諧 "be in harmony with, be perfectly consistent with") refers quite abstractly to logical incoherence or inconsistency.

  3.Hài 害 (ant. yì 益 "further strengthen the point") is a term for logical inconsistency.

  4. Xiāng gōng 相攻 and bù xiāng róng 不相容 are technical terms referring to logical incompatibility.

  NB: Shuǐ huǒ 水火 is late post-Buddhist and refers vividly to a practical incompatibility.

• REVOLT
  

  1. The current general word for staging a revolt against authorities is pàn 叛 (ant. shùn 順 "remain loyal").

  2. Luàn 亂 (ant. zhì 治 "regularly political government") refers to a major political upheaval designed to topple the reigning government.

  3. Biàn 變 (ant. cóng 從 "remain politically obedient") refers rather abstractly and neutrally to large scale or comprehensive political unrest of an unspecified character without the negative evaluation of such action which is inherent in luàn 亂.

  4. Fǎn 反 (ant. zhōng 忠 "show proper loyalty") refers to a political revolt on a lesser scale than luàn 亂, and this word always has negative overtones.

  5. Bèi 背 and bèi 倍 (ant. shùn 順 "remain loyal") refer to a defiant act of disobedience and turning against one's superiors without a necessary intention to topple these authorities.

  6. Nàn 難 (ant. xiào 效 "loyal positive effort") refers rather abstractly to political unrest of an unspecified character and focusses on this as being a threat to the ruler's authority and position.

  7. Nì 逆 (ant. shùn 順 "remain loyal") refers to political disobedience and revolt in a disapproving way.

• RETURN
  

  1. The standard general word for returning to where one belongs is guī1 歸 (zhī 之 "go to").

  2. Fǎn 反 / 返 (ant. wǎng 往 "set out for") is to get back to where one came from, and the focus is on whereto one returns. 及反 is "when he had got back", 未反 is "before he had god back". 反哭 is wailing upon one's return, not while returning.

  3. Huán 還 (ant. wǎng 往 "set out for") typically refers to turning round and preparing to retrace one's steps or one's route, very often after a military or civil engagement, successful or unseccessful, and the focus is on wherefrom one returns. 還 as a subordinate sentence is "when he was on his way back". See TURN ROUND

  4. Fù 復 (ant. lí 離 "quit") is sometimes used for returning to or regaining a position.

• OBTAIN
  

  1. The current general and highly abstract verb for obtaining any form of possession of anything abstract or concrete is dé 得 (ant. shī 失 "lose inadvertently").

  2. Obtaining something through effort and often with an element of choice involved is qǔ 取 (ant. qì 棄 "choose to reject").

  3. Obtaining something that tries to escape or is otherwise hard to get is huò 獲 (ant. wáng 亡 "miss out on, fail to get").

  4. Getting something which one has had before is fǎn 反.

• CHANGE
  

  1. The most current general words for objective and typically abrupt change are biàn 變 "change FROM one's original state to become something different" (ant. héng 恆 "remain constant").

  2. Huà 化 (ant. cháng 常 "remain constant") refers to irreversible change INTO a fundamentally new state, while retaining one's identity".

  3. Gǎi 改 refers to a deliberate change brought about at a certain point in time, typically in order to improve a situation. See IMPROVE

  4. Gēng 更 is an act of deliberately changing something, typically by replacing it by an improved version of the same kind of thing in order to insure continuity.

  5. Gé 革 (ant. yīn 因 "continue the tradition") refers to a typically unlicenced act of replacing the old by something new.

  6. Yì 易 refers prototypically to a change construed as brought about by a process of interchange and (often mutual) replacement.

  7. Dòng 動 refers to change construed as the moving from a previous stable state.

  8. Xǐ 徙 refers to making the object moved unstable.

  9. Yí 移 refers to a change in a current situation so as to effect a certain development in a desired direction.

  10. Yú 渝 is to change a current situation or an object, generally to the worse, and the word is remarkably often negated.

  11. Qiān 遷 (ant. 滯 "stay put in one place, unable to move") refers typically to change of one's current condition brought about by oneself.

  12. Fǎn 反 refers to a change resulting in the reverting to one's original state. See RETURN vt.fig

  13. Zhuǎn 轉 refers to change typically construed as part of a cycle of changes.

• JADE
  

  XUN 27:8, Knoblock 3:209

  聘人以珪， Men on official visits use the gu• (which is square at the bottom and round on top),

  問士以璧， freemen asking advice use the b“ (ring-jade);

  召人以瑗， someone summoning other will use the yuàn;

  絕人以玦， someone breaking off relations with someone will use the jué;

  反絕以環。 someone who is making good again broken-off relations will use the huán.

• CONFORM
  

  1. Perhaps the most general and the most current word describing conformity to a norm is shùn 順 (ant. nì 逆 "go against").

  2. Yóu 由 refers to conformity construed as a matter of taking something as one's starting point or point of orientation.

  3. Dào 道 refers to conformity construed as a matter of taking one's model to define the way of doing things for one.

  4. Yǐ 以 refers to conformity construed as a matter of availing oneself of something as an instrument or guideline.

  5. Yīn 因 refers to conformity construed as a matter of adapting to pre-existing models or rules.

  6. Yuán 緣 refers to conformity construed as a matter of following something attentively in all details as a guideline.

  7. Shǒu 守 refers to conformity construed as a matter of guarding a precedent or a tradition.

  8. Zhōu 周 and hé 合 (all ant. fǎn 反 "go against the model") refer to complete all-round conformity construed as overall identification with a model.

  9. Chèn 稱 refers to conformity construed as a matter of balancing one's actions against a standard.

  10. Yìng 應 and

  shì 適 refer to conformity construed as a matter of responding adequately to given facts.

  12. Cóng 從 and suí 隨 refer to conformity construed as a matter of following a lead.

  12. Tīng 聽 refers specifically to a superior acting in conformity with his inferior's suggestions.

• LOOK TO SIDE
  

  顧 is to turn one's head and look.

  眷 is to turn one's head and look intensely at, often with concern,

  眷言 is a poetic way of saying 眷.,

  顧瞻 is to turn one's head and have a look at.

  顧視 is to turn one's head and examine visually,

  還目 is to to look around,

  反顧 is to look in the opposite direction,

  還望 is to look into the distance in the other direction,

  顧睨 is to peer into the other direction.

  顧望 is to turn one's head and look in the other direction.

• GIVE BACK
  

  1. The current word for giving something back is fǎn 反.

  2. Guī 歸 focusses on the giving something back being an act of returning something where it really does belong.

Word relations
• Ant: (OPPOSE)隨/FOLLOW Suí 隨 is to move along literally behind someone, by a deliberate act of volition.
• Ant: (RETURN)往/LEAVE Wǎng 往 (ant.* jū 居 "stay at home") focusses not only on the leaving but especially on the direction a person takes after leaving. 5 Attributions
• Object: (RETURN)國/STATE The dominant word is guó 國, and the word naturally focusses on the capital which defines the identity of the state, but from Warring States times the word does refer to the whole of the territory, as the term guó xiāo 國削 "the state was truncated" shows. 2 Attributions
• Object: (RETURN)本/BASIS The basic word is běn 本 "the trunk, the main part" (ant. mò 末 "marginal part") and this word refers to the crucial constituent of something in any sense. [GENERAL], [STATIC]; [[COMMON]] 1 Attribution
• Contrast: (ATTACK)伐/ATTACK Fá 伐 refers to a large-scale typically destructive formal attack by one state on another, typically formally announced, and with much beating of drums. [DESCENDING], [MILITARY], [LARGE-SCALE!], [OVERT]
• Assoc: (REVOLVE)轉/REVOLVE The current general word for revolving, both externally induced and proceeding spontaneously or naturally, is zhuǎn 轉.
• Assoc: (OPPOSE)逆/OPPOSE
• Assoc: (RETURN)還/RETURN Huán 還 (ant. wǎng 往 "set out for") typically refers to turning round and preparing to retrace one's steps or one's route, very often after a military or civil engagement, successful or unseccessful, and the focus is on wherefrom one returns. 還 as a subordinate sentence is "when he was on his way back". See TURN ROUND 2 Attributions
• Synon: (CONTRARY)伐/CONTRARY
• Synon: (REVOLT)畔 / 叛/REVOLT
• Synon: (RETURN)歸/RETURN The standard general world for returning to where one belongs is guī1 歸(zhī 之 "go to") . 1 Attribution
• Synon: (OPPOSE)違/OFFEND Wéi 違 (ant. xún 循 "follow") and the rarer lí 離 as well as fēi 非 are neutral terms referring to a failure to comply with something.
• Oppos: (GIVE BACK)假/BORROW Jiǎ 假 emphasises the termporary aspect of borrowing. 1 Attribution