The character 发 — “send”: how to write it and what it means
send, emit
The Chinese character 发 is read fā and means “send, emit”. Below: the stroke order step by step, what the character is made of and the words it appears in.
Stroke order: how to write 发
发 has 5 strokes. At each step the new stroke is highlighted — write them in the same order: top to bottom and left to right, horizontal before vertical, a frame before what is inside it, and the bottom stroke of the frame last.
To train your hand, print a handwriting sheet for 发, with strokes to trace and empty squares.
What 发 is made of
Its second reading is fà, “hair”: in 头发 it sounds with the neutral tone, fa.
The parts of a character hint at its meaning or its reading — more in the article “Chinese character radicals”.
Words with 发
- 头发hairHSK 3
- 沙发sofaHSK 3
- 出发set offHSK 3
- 发生happenHSK 3
- 发现discover, findHSK 3
- 发展develop; developmentHSK 3
- 发烧have a feverHSK 3
- 理发get a haircutHSK 4
- 发送send (a message)HSK 4
- 发出emit, send outHSK 4
- 转发forward, repostHSK 4
- 发挥bring into play (abilities)HSK 5
- 发音pronunciation; pronounceHSK 5
- 发达developedHSK 5
- 开发develop, exploitHSK 5
- 研发research and developHSK 5
Frequently asked questions
How do you write the character 发?
发 has 5 strokes. They follow the usual rules: top to bottom, left to right, horizontal before vertical, outside before inside. The order of each stroke is shown on this page.
What does 发 mean?
发 means “send, emit”. It appears in 头发 (“hair”), 沙发 (“sofa”), 出发 (“set off”), 发生 (“happen”).
How do you pronounce 发?
发 is read fā. The tone is part of the reading: with another melody it becomes another syllable.
How many strokes does 发 have?
5 strokes.
More characters on the page “Chinese characters with meanings” and in the list of HSK characters by level; whole words are in the dictionary.
Write 发 yourself
In the lessons you write characters stroke by stroke with a finger or a mouse, and the course checks the order. You can start for free, no sign-up needed.
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