斐 meaning and stroke order
Graceful, elegant, beautiful
How to write 斐, stroke by stroke
12 strokes in order. Each box adds the next stroke in red. Write top to bottom and left to right, and finish enclosing strokes last.
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Meaning of 斐
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- phonetic fei or fi
- (literary) rich with literary elegance
- phi (Greek letter Φ, φ)
How 斐 is built
Phono-semantic (sound + meaning) character. Culture.
文 gives the meaning and 非 hints at the sound.
Radical: 文 (culture), shared by 7 characters on this site.
How to remember 斐
斐 is 非 (fēi) on top of 文 (wén, writing, culture). 非 gives the sound, and 文 below hints at the meaning: writing so full of culture that it shines with elegance.
斐 is literary and rarely used alone in modern speech. You mostly meet it in set phrases like 斐然 (fěirán, brilliant, outstanding), in names, and in transliterations such as 斐济 (Fěijì, Fiji). Example: 成绩斐然 (chéngjì fěirán) means "the results are outstanding."
Common mistake: Learners often read 斐 with the first tone like its top part 非 (fēi), but 斐 is third tone, fěi. It is also easy to confuse with 菲 (fēi/fěi, with the grass radical on top) and 翡 (fěi, with 羽 below, as in 翡翠 fěicuì, jade).
Questions about 斐
How many strokes are in 斐?
斐 is written with 12 strokes. The diagrams on this page number every stroke in the order it is written, with the new stroke shown in red.
What does 斐 mean?
斐 (fěi) means graceful, elegant, beautiful.
How do you pronounce 斐?
斐 is pronounced fěi, in the third tone (dipping).
What is the radical of 斐?
The radical of 斐 is 文, which carries the idea of "culture". Dictionaries list 斐 under this radical.
What does 斐然 mean and how is it used?
斐然 (fěirán) means remarkable or brilliant, usually describing achievements or writing. It often appears in the phrase 成绩斐然 (chéngjì fěirán), "outstanding results." It sounds formal and fits written Chinese or speeches.
How is 斐 used for the Greek letter phi?
In Chinese, the Greek letter φ is often written as 斐 (fěi) because the sounds are similar. For example, the golden ratio is sometimes called 斐波那契 related terms, as in 斐波那契数列 (Fěibōnàqì shùliè), the Fibonacci sequence, which also uses 斐 for its sound.