攵

fǎnwén

radical variant

Meanings

1 tap / strike radical variant (of 攴)
2 right form of the tap radical, Kangxi #66

Tips

usage

攵 sitting on the right of a character signals causing, governing, or striking - the radical of forceful action. The pedagogical name fǎnwén ("reversed 文") just describes the four-stroke shape; semantically it has nothing to do with 文. Compresses the parent 攴 (hand holding a stick) and never appears alone.

history

攵 is the calligraphic compression of 攴, originally a hand 又 gripping a stick 卜 to tap or hit. In right-position the hand and stick fuse into four flowing strokes that happen to mirror the silhouette of 文, which is why teachers nickname it fǎnwén - the resemblance is purely visual.

usage

Action-on-object cue: 教 (teach), 放 (release), 收 (collect), 改 (change), 故 (reason / old), 数 (count / number), 敢 (dare).

Radical

Rap Kangxi #66

Pictograph of a hand wielding a small rod to strike or correct. Highly productive - its modern variant 攵 sits on the right of dozens of common characters about action, governance, or teaching: 教 (teach), 改 (alter), 政 (government), 故 (cause), 救 (rescue), 敏 (agile).

Forms

攴 pū

Default 2 characters

攵 fǎnwén

Right 27 characters

Used in

View all 27 →

Showing 6 of 27 · right form 攵 of 攴

放 fàng

to put · to place

敢 gǎn

to dare · bold; daring

救 jiù

to save; to rescue · to relieve; to help

教 jiāo

to teach · to instruct

教 jiào

to teach; to instruct · a religion; a faith

整 zhěng

whole; entire; complete · neat; tidy

Stroke Order