烦 meaning and stroke order
To feel vexed; to bother; to trouble
How to write 烦, stroke by stroke
10 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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- 10
Meaning of 烦
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- to feel vexed
- to bother
- to trouble
- superfluous and confusing
- edgy
How 烦 is built
Phono-semantic (sound + meaning) character. Fire.
火 gives the meaning and 页 hints at the sound.
Radical: 火 (fire), shared by 128 characters on this site.
How to remember 烦
烦 puts fire 火 next to 页, a part that shows up in characters about the head. Picture fire burning beside your head. That hot, irritated feeling is what 烦 (fán) means.
烦 is very common in speech for feeling annoyed or fed up, and it appears in everyday words like 麻烦 (máfan) and 烦恼 (fánnǎo). For example: 别烦我。(Bié fán wǒ.) Don't bother me.
Common mistake: In 麻烦 (máfan) the 烦 is usually said in the neutral tone, so learners who stress it as fán sound stiff. Also, the right side is 页, not 贝 (bèi, shell), so check the top stroke when writing it.
Common words with 烦
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| 麻烦 | máfan | trouble; inconvenience; inconvenient; troublesome; annoying | HSK 3 |
| 不耐烦 | bù nàifán | impatient; to lose patience | HSK 5 |
| 烦恼 | fánnǎo | to be worried; to be distressed | HSK 7-9 |
| 厌烦 | yànfán | bored; fed up with sth; sick of sth | HSK 7-9 |
| 烦躁 | fánzào | jittery; twitchy | HSK 7-9 |
| 烦闷 | fánmèn | moody; gloomy | HSK 7-9 |
| 惹麻烦 | rěmáfan | to create difficulties; to be troublesome; to invite trouble | |
| 烦人 | fánrén | to annoy; annoying | |
| 添麻烦 | tiānmáfan | to cause trouble for sb; to inconvenience | |
| 心烦 | xīnfán | to feel agitated; to be troubled | |
| 找麻烦 | zhǎomáfan | to look for trouble | |
| 心烦意乱 | xīnfányìluàn | lit. heart distracted, thoughts in turmoil (idiom); distraught with anxiety | |
| 烦心 | fánxīn | annoying; vexing | |
| 自找麻烦 | zìzhǎomáfan | to ask for trouble; to invite difficulties |
烦 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Questions about 烦
How many strokes are in 烦?
烦 is written with 10 strokes. The diagrams on this page number every stroke in the order it is written, with the new stroke shown in red.
What does 烦 mean?
烦 (fán) means to feel vexed; to bother; to trouble. A common word with it is 麻烦 (máfan), meaning "trouble; inconvenience; inconvenient; troublesome; annoying".
How do you pronounce 烦?
烦 is pronounced fán, in the second tone (rising).
What is the radical of 烦?
The radical of 烦 is 火, which carries the idea of "fire". Dictionaries list 烦 under this radical.
What is the traditional form of 烦?
The traditional form of 烦 is 煩. Traditional characters are used in Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau; 烦 is the simplified form used in mainland China and Singapore.
Is 烦 on the HSK exam?
Yes. 烦 is part of the HSK 3 character list in the HSK 3.0 standard, and you are expected to write it by hand from HSK 2.
How do I use 麻烦 to politely ask someone for help?
Put 麻烦 (máfan) before a request, like 麻烦你帮我一下 (máfan nǐ bāng wǒ yíxià), please help me for a moment. It works like saying sorry to trouble you.
What is the difference between 烦 and 烦恼?
烦 (fán) alone is casual and often means annoyed or irritated right now, as in 我很烦 (wǒ hěn fán), I'm so annoyed. 烦恼 (fánnǎo) is more about worries or troubles weighing on your mind, and it can also be a noun.