奋

奮
fèn
verb #18,014

Meanings

  1. 1 to exert oneself; to strive
  2. 2 vigorous; energetic

Examples

HSK 4
Dàjiā dōu hěn xīngfèn.
Everyone is very excited.
HSK 5
Tā yìzhí zài fèndòu.
He has been striving all along.

Tips

usage
奋斗 (fèndòu) = to struggle/strive. 兴奋 (xīngfèn) = excited. 勤奋 (qínfèn) = diligent.

Components

radical
大 dà
big; great
Big-person radical on top - a stick figure with outstretched arms and legs, the indexing radical. Traditional 奮 had 大 over 隹 (short-tailed bird) over 田 (field), picturing a bird beating its wings to break free. Modern simplification dropped the bird, leaving big-person above field - still suggesting a person extending themselves with effort.
semantic
田 tián
field
Bottom 田 'field' - picture of a divided plot of farmland, the grid of paths between paddies. In the original 奮 imagery, 田 was the open landscape over which a bird flexed its wings; modern 奋 keeps the field as the open ground a person strides across with vigour. Compound 奋斗 'to strive' captures its energy.

Stroke Order

奋 fèn