蕃 meaning and stroke order
Abundant, flourishing; barbarians, foreigners
How to write 蕃, stroke by stroke
15 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 蕃
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- see 吐蕃[Tu3 bo1]
- luxuriant
- flourishing
- to reproduce
- to proliferate
- variant of 番[fan1]
- foreign (non-Chinese)
How 蕃 is built
Phono-semantic (sound + meaning) character. Grass.
艹 gives the meaning and 番 hints at the sound.
Radical: 艹 (grass), shared by 421 characters on this site.
How to remember 蕃
蕃 is grass 艹 on top of 番 (fān), which gives the sound. Picture grass spreading over a field and multiplying, which links to the sense of flourishing growth.
Read as fán, 蕃 means luxuriant or multiplying, as in 蕃衍 (fányǎn, to multiply), though 繁衍 is the more common modern spelling. Read as fān, it is a variant of 番 meaning foreign, seen in 蕃茄 (fānqié), an older spelling of 番茄. Example: 蕃茄很好吃。(Fānqié hěn hǎochī.) Tomatoes are tasty.
Common mistake: Learners often drop the grass top and write 番, or add it where it does not belong. Today 番茄 is the standard spelling, so use 蕃茄 only when you recognize it in older or regional texts.
Common words with 蕃
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| 蕃茄 | fānqié | variant of 番茄[fan1 qie2] |
蕃 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Questions about 蕃
How many strokes are in 蕃?
蕃 is written with 15 strokes. The diagrams on this page number every stroke in the order it is written, with the new stroke shown in red.
What does 蕃 mean?
蕃 (fān) means abundant, flourishing; barbarians, foreigners. A common word with it is 蕃茄 (fānqié), meaning "variant of 番茄[fan1 qie2]".
How do you pronounce 蕃?
蕃 is pronounced fān, in the first tone (high and level).
What is the radical of 蕃?
The radical of 蕃 is 艹, which carries the idea of "grass". Dictionaries list 蕃 under this radical.
How do I know whether to read 蕃 as fān, fán, or bō?
Use fán for the meanings of lush growth or multiplying. Use fān for the foreign sense and in 蕃茄. The reading bō appears only in 吐蕃 (Tǔbō), the historical Tibetan kingdom.
What is the difference between 蕃 and 繁?
Both can mean abundant or multiplying when 蕃 is read fán. In modern writing 繁 is far more common, as in 繁殖 (fánzhí, to reproduce), while 蕃 in this sense feels literary.