放 (fàng): to put

Meanings

1 to put
2 to place
3 to release
4 to let go

Characters

放

fàng

to put; to release; to let go

方 (direction) + 攵 (to strike) — strike outward to release.

Examples

请把书放在桌子上。

Qǐng bǎ shū fàng zài zhuōzi shàng.

Please put the book on the table.

放在这里吧。

Fàng zài zhèlǐ ba.

Put it here.

我放了一天假。

Wǒ fàng le yì tiān jià.

I had a day off.

Tips

usage

放 has many uses: 放假 (have a holiday), 放学 (school lets out), 放心 (relax/don't worry), 放弃 (give up).

Components

radical

攵 pū

tap; strike (radical form)

Right side 攵 — also 放's indexing radical (Kangxi #66, the 'rap' radical, side-form of 攴). A hand holding a stick: signals an active, deliberate motion done by force. The original 放 was 'to drive out by striking' (banishment); the modern 'release, let go, place' senses all keep this active-causation flavour. Same radical in 故, 教, 政, 收.

phonetic

方 fāng

square; direction

Left side 方 supplies the sound: fāng → fàng with only a tone shift. 方's own pictographic origin (a plough or banner) is faintly relevant — the original 放 sense was 'to drive out, to send away in a direction,' so the directional meaning of 方 supports 'release, set loose, place outward.' Same phonetic in 房, 访, 仿, 防.