髮 meaning and stroke order
To issue, to dispatch, to send out; hair
How to write 髮, 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 髮
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- hair
- Taiwan pr. [fa3]
How 髮 is built
Phono-semantic (sound + meaning) character. Hair.
髟 gives the meaning and 犮 hints at the sound.
Radical: 髟 (long hair), shared by 21 characters on this site.
How to remember 髮
The top part 髟 is the hair component, showing long flowing hair, and it tells you the meaning. The bottom part 犮 (bá) gives a hint of the sound, so think of 髮 (fà) as hair hanging down over 犮.
髮 is the traditional form used for the hair meaning, read fà, and it appears in words like 頭髮 (tóufa), 理髮 (lǐfà) and 假髮 (jiǎfà). In simplified Chinese it merges with 發 into one character, 发. Example: 她的頭髮很長。(Tā de tóufa hěn cháng.) Her hair is very long.
Common mistake: Learners converting simplified text often write 發 for every 发, but hair words need 髮, so 頭發 is wrong and 頭髮 is right. Also note the tone: hair is fà (fourth tone), while 發 meaning to send out is fā (first tone).
Common words with 髮
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| 頭髮 | tóufa | hair (on the head) | HSK 2 |
| 理髮 | lǐfà | to get a haircut; to have one's hair done; to cut (sb's) hair; to give (sb) a haircut | HSK 3 |
| 髮型 | fàxíng | hairstyle; coiffure; hairdo | HSK 7-9 |
| 千鈞一髮 | qiānjūn-yīfà | (lit.) a thousand pounds hangs by a thread (idiom); (fig.) (at the) critical; perilous (mo | HSK 7-9 |
| 金髮 | jīnfà | blond; blonde | |
| 假髮 | jiǎfà | wig | |
| 長髮 | chángfà | long hair | |
| 毛髮 | máofà | hair | |
| 理髮師 | lǐfàshī | barber; hairdresser | |
| 剪頭髮 | jiǎntóufa | (to get a) haircut | |
| 黑髮 | hēifà | black hair | |
| 理髮店 | lǐfàdiàn | barbershop; hairdresser's | |
| 秀髮 | xiùfà | beautiful hair | |
| 捲髮 | juǎnfà | curly hair; to curl hair |
Questions about 髮
How many strokes are in 髮?
髮 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 髮 mean?
髮 (fā) means to issue, to dispatch, to send out; hair. A common word with it is 头发 (tóufa), meaning "hair (on the head)".
How do you pronounce 髮?
髮 is pronounced fā, in the first tone (high and level).
What is the radical of 髮?
The radical of 髮 is 髟, which carries the idea of "long hair". Dictionaries list 髮 under this radical.
What is the simplified form of 髮?
髮 is a traditional character. Its simplified form is 发, used in mainland China and Singapore.
Why does 头发 sound like tóufa with no tone on fa?
In everyday Mandarin the second syllable of 头发 is usually read in the neutral tone, so you hear tóufa. In 理发 (lǐfà) and 发型 (fàxíng) it keeps its fourth tone.
How do people in Taiwan pronounce 髮?
The dictionary notes a Taiwan pronunciation of fǎ, with the third tone. In mainland standard Mandarin it is fà.