沸 meaning and stroke order
To boil, to bubble up, to gush
How to write 沸, stroke by stroke
8 strokes in order. Each box adds the next stroke in red. Write top to bottom and left to right, and finish enclosing strokes last.
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
- 7
- 8
Meaning of 沸
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- to boil
How 沸 is built
Phono-semantic (sound + meaning) character. Water.
氵 gives the meaning and 弗 hints at the sound.
Radical: 氵 (water), shared by 467 characters on this site.
How to remember 沸
沸 combines the water radical 氵 with 弗 (fú), which gives the sound. Picture water 氵 bubbling so hard that it makes a fú fú sound as it boils.
沸 is rarely used alone in everyday speech. It mostly appears in words like 沸腾 (fèiténg) and 沸点 (fèidiǎn, boiling point), and in set phrases about strong emotion. Example: 水已经沸腾了。(Shuǐ yǐjīng fèiténg le.) The water is already boiling.
Common mistake: Learners often confuse 沸 (fèi) with 拂 (fú, to brush) or 佛 (fó, Buddha), which share 弗 but have different radicals and sounds. Also note the fourth tone: fèi, not fēi.
Common words with 沸
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
沸 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Questions about 沸
How many strokes are in 沸?
沸 is written with 8 strokes. The diagrams on this page number every stroke in the order it is written, with the new stroke shown in red.
What does 沸 mean?
沸 (fèi) means to boil, to bubble up, to gush. A common word with it is 沸腾 (fèiténg), meaning "(of a liquid) to boil; (of sentiments etc) to boil over".
How do you pronounce 沸?
沸 is pronounced fèi, in the fourth tone (falling).
What is the radical of 沸?
The radical of 沸 is 氵, which carries the idea of "water". Dictionaries list 沸 under this radical.
Is 沸 on the HSK exam?
Yes. 沸 is part of the HSK 7-9 character list in the HSK 3.0 standard.
How do you say boiling water in daily Chinese?
People usually say 开水 (kāishuǐ) or 烧开 (shāokāi, to bring to a boil) in daily life. 沸水 (fèishuǐ) exists but sounds more formal or technical.
What does 沸沸扬扬 mean when talking about news?
It describes something causing a big public stir, like a rumor or scandal that everyone is talking about. For example, 这件事闹得沸沸扬扬 (zhè jiàn shì nào de fèifèiyángyáng) means this matter caused a huge uproar.