斐 (fěi) · rich with literary elegance, phi (Greek letter)

Meanings

1 rich with literary elegance
2 phi (Greek letter)
3 phonetic fei or fi

Characters

斐

fěi

literary elegance; phonetic fi/fei

Examples

HSK 5

成绩斐然。

Chéngjì fěi rán.

The achievements are remarkable.

HSK 6

斐然成章。

Fěi rán chéng zhāng.

Beautifully composed into an essay. (literary idiom)

Tips

usage

Most often seen in the literary expression 斐然 (remarkable; outstanding) or as a phonetic character in transliterated names like 斐济 (Fiji).

Components

radical

文 wén

writing; pattern; culture

Bottom 文 - originally a pictograph of crossed body markings or chest tattoos, the same root sense that gave 文 its 'pattern' and 'culture' meanings. It indexes 斐 in the patterned-cultivation family: 斑 spotted, 章 emblem, 彰 manifest. 斐 specifically means strikingly elegant or distinguished, the kind of cultured brilliance worth showing off.

phonetic

非 fēi

not; wrong

Top 非 supplies the sound: fēi → fěi with the regular tone shift. Same phonetic powers 排 arrange, 徘 wander, 啡 coffee. 非 itself pictures two opposing wings of a bird, a striking interlaced pattern. That visual rhythm carries faintly into 斐's meaning - the criss-cross weave of bold, colorful patterning.