fěn
noun/adjective HSK 7-9 #3,839

Meanings

  1. 1 powder
  2. 2 noodles
  3. 3 pink

Examples

Fěnhóng
pink
Mǐfěn
rice noodles
Fěnbǐ
chalk

Tips

memory
(rice) + (divide) — rice ground into powder

Components

radical
rice; grain
Left indexing rice radical. Powdered rice was the most common base for both face powder and culinary starch. From this came the generic 'powder' meaning, then 'pale pink' (the colour of rice-powder makeup tinted with rouge), and the noodles made from rice flour. Same family: (grain), (sugar), (porridge), (cake).
phonetic
fēn
to divide; separate
Right component supplies the sound (fēn → fěn, only tone shift) and a strong semantic echo. means 'to divide, separate' — exactly what milling does to grain, breaking it into the smallest particles. So reads as 'rice divided into tiny pieces' = powder. Same phonetic in (share), (numerous), (atmosphere).

Stroke Order

fěn