• 班長はんちょう — group leader
• 救急班きゅうきゅうはん — emergency response team
• 取材班しゅざいはん — news crew
• 登山班とざんはん — climbing party
• 班別はんべつ — group division
• 作業班さぎょうはん — work team

班 combines the radical 玉 (jewel or ball) with 斑 (spotted or divided). Historically, it symbolized the division of precious items or ranks. Over time, it came to mean a group or segment — something divided from a whole.