fān
noun HSK 7-9 #10,907

Measure Word

miàn

Meanings

  1. 1 sail

Examples

HSK 5
Fēng bǎ fān chuī de gǔgǔde.
The wind filled the sail.
HSK 6
Yīfān-fēngshùn shì dàjiā duì nǐ de zhùfú.
'Smooth sailing' is everyone's blessing to you.

Tips

memory
contains (cloth) and (fán, ordinary) which gives the sound. A sail is essentially a piece of cloth catching the wind.

Components

radical
jīn
cloth; towel
Left cloth radical - a pictograph of fabric hanging from a sash. Carries the meaning: a is a sail, a great sheet of cloth catching the wind. Indexes in the textile family with cloth, curtain, hat, tent.
phonetic
fán
ordinary; every (here phonetic)
Right side supplies the sound - fán → fān with tone shift only. The 'ordinary' meaning is not active; is purely a sound tag. Interestingly itself was an old pictograph of a sail-like frame, so the choice carries a faint visual echo even though etymology is loose.

Stroke Order

fān