fán
adjective HSK 4 #1,519

Meanings

  1. 1 annoyed; vexed; irritated
  2. 2 to bother; to trouble

Characters

Combines (fire) with (head) - a burning feeling in the head when irritated.

Examples

HSK 1
Bié fán wǒ!
Don't bother me!
HSK 3
Zhè jiàn shì tài máfan le.
This matter is too troublesome.
HSK 3
Zuìjìn gōngzuò yālì dà, tā xīnlǐ hěn fán.
Work pressure has been heavy lately and he feels really irritated.

Tips

usage
appears in 麻烦 (máfan, troublesome/to bother), 烦恼 (fánnǎo, worried/troubled), 烦躁 (fánzào, agitated), 厌烦 (yànfán, fed up). 麻烦你 (máfan nǐ) is a polite way to say 'sorry to trouble you'.

Components

radical
huǒ
fire
Left fire radical - the indexing component. Pictures flames rising with sparks flying out. Captures the burning, fevered feeling of irritation that describes - the head feels hot, things grate, frustration mounts. The radical placement (left rather than the bottom 'fire-feet') keeps the fire upright, as if heat rising in the face.
semantic
head; page
Right - originally pictured a human head (the simplified form of ; same shape appears in 'neck,' 'top of head'). Combined with on the left, the whole character is a compound ideograph: a head on fire, a feverish, frustrated mind. From that vivid picture come the senses: vexed, annoyed, troubled, bothered.

Stroke Order

fán