泛 meaning and stroke order
To drift, to float; broad, vast; careless, reckless
How to write 泛, stroke by stroke
7 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 泛
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- (bound form) general
- non-specific
- extensive
- pan-
- to flood
- (literary) to float about
How 泛 is built
Phono-semantic (sound + meaning) character. Water.
氵 gives the meaning and 乏 hints at the sound.
Radical: 氵 (water), shared by 467 characters on this site.
How to remember 泛
泛 is water 氵 on the left with 乏 (fá) on the right, which gives the sound. Picture water spreading out so thin and wide that it seems to lack 乏 any edges, which links to drifting, flooding, and being broad.
泛 rarely stands alone in modern Chinese. It appears in words like 广泛 (guǎngfàn, widespread), 泛滥 (fànlàn, to flood), and as the prefix pan-, as in 泛亚 (fàn Yà, pan-Asian). Example: 这个问题引起了广泛的关注。(Zhège wèntí yǐnqǐ le guǎngfàn de guānzhù.) This issue attracted wide attention.
Common mistake: Learners often mix up 泛 with 乏 (fá, lacking) or read it as fá because of the phonetic part. Remember that 泛 is fourth tone fàn, the same sound as 饭 (fàn, rice).
Common words with 泛
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
泛 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Questions about 泛
How many strokes are in 泛?
泛 is written with 7 strokes. The diagrams on this page number every stroke in the order it is written, with the new stroke shown in red.
What does 泛 mean?
泛 (fàn) means to drift, to float; broad, vast; careless, reckless. A common word with it is 广泛 (guǎngfàn), meaning "wide; broad; extensive; widespread".
How do you pronounce 泛?
泛 is pronounced fàn, in the fourth tone (falling).
What is the radical of 泛?
The radical of 泛 is 氵, which carries the idea of "water". Dictionaries list 泛 under this radical.
What is the traditional form of 泛?
The traditional form of 泛 is 氾 and 汎. Traditional characters are used in Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau; 泛 is the simplified form used in mainland China and Singapore.
Is 泛 on the HSK exam?
Yes. 泛 is part of the HSK 5 character list in the HSK 3.0 standard.
What does 泛 mean in words like 泛指?
In 泛指 (fànzhǐ) it means general or non-specific, so the phrase means to refer to something in a general way. It is the opposite of 特指 (tèzhǐ), to refer to something specific.
Is 泛滥 only used for water?
No. Its literal meaning is a river flooding, but it is often used figuratively for things spreading out of control. For example, 假新闻泛滥 (jiǎ xīnwén fànlàn) means fake news is everywhere.