吩 (fēn) · to instruct; to tell (sb to do sth) (in 吩咐)

Meanings

1 to instruct; to tell (sb to do sth) (in 吩咐)

Characters

吩

fēn

to instruct (in 吩咐)

Examples

HSK 7-9

爷爷吩咐我好好照看小马。

Yéye fēnfù wǒ hǎohǎo zhàokàn xiǎomǎ.

Grandpa told me to take good care of the foal.

HSK 7-9

你有什么事尽管吩咐，我马上去办。

Nǐ yǒu shénme shì jǐnguǎn fēnfù, wǒ mǎshàng qù bàn.

Just tell me whatever you need, and I'll do it right away.

Tips

usage

吩 only lives in the word 吩咐 (to instruct, give orders), typically a senior telling a junior to do something. It has no standalone use of its own.

Components

radical

口 kǒu

mouth

The mouth radical 口 on the left signals a speech act, fitting since 吩咐 means to give spoken instructions.

phonetic

分 fēn

to divide; portion

Right side 分 (to divide) gives the sound fēn with no drift. The faint sense of "parcelling out" tasks fits an order being handed down.

Stroke Order

吩 fēn

Related Words

吩咐 fēnfù HSK 7-9 #5,615

to instruct; to tell someone to do something / to give orders

分辨 fēnbiàn HSK 7-9 #6,677

to distinguish / to differentiate / to tell apart

创 chuàng HSK 7-9 #4,905

to create; to initiate; to found / to achieve (sth for the first time); to set (a record)

看出 kànchū #4,732

to make out; to see; to discern / to tell; to perceive

讲讲 jiǎngjiang #4,694

to talk about (briefly) / to tell; to explain a bit

实话实说 shíhuà-shíshuō HSK 7-9 #5,310

to tell the truth / to speak frankly / to call a spade a spade

指示 zhǐshì HSK 6 #3,534

to instruct; to direct; to indicate / instructions; directive; order

告 gào HSK 7-9 #2,623

to tell; to inform / to announce; to declare / to sue; to accuse

讲述 jiǎngshù HSK 5 #5,721

to narrate / to recount / to tell about

说实话 shuōshíhuà #1,740

to be honest; frankly speaking; to tell the truth