Meaning of 放
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- to put
- to place
- to release
- to free
- to let go
- to let out
- to set off (fireworks)
How to use 放
放 means both to put something somewhere and to let something go, and it appears in many everyday words like 放学 (fàngxué), 放假 (fàngjià) and 放心 (fàngxīn). To say where you put something, use 放在 or 放到 plus a place. Example: 把书放在桌子上。(Bǎ shū fàng zài zhuōzi shang.) Put the book on the table.
放 has 方 (fāng) on the left, which gives the sound, and 攵 on the right, a hand holding a stick. Picture a hand waving a stick to send animals out in every direction (方), letting them go.
Common mistake: Learners often write 放 with the wrong right side, using 欠 or 又 instead of 攵. The sounds also get mixed up: 放 is fourth tone fàng, while its component 方 is first tone fāng.
放 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Stroke order for each character
Open a character for its meaning, components and more words.
放 fàng · to put · 8 strokes
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
- 7
- 8
Related words
Words that share a character with 放.
| 放学 | fàngxué | to dismiss students at the end of the school day |
| 放假 | fàngjià | to have a holiday or vacation |
| 放下 | fàngxia | to lay down; to put down; to let go of; to relinquish; to set aside |
| 放心 | fàngxīn | to feel relieved; to feel reassured |
| 放到 | fàngdào | |
| 播放 | bōfàng | to broadcast; to transmit (by radio or TV) |
| 开放 | kāifàng | to bloom; to open |
| 放松 | fàngsōng | to relax; to slacken; to loosen |
| 放弃 | fàngqì | to renounce; to abandon; to give up |
| 解放 | jiěfàng | to liberate; to emancipate |
| 放大 | fàngdà | to enlarge; to magnify |
| 发放 | fāfàng | to provide; to give |
Questions about 放
What does 放 mean?
放 (fàng) means "to put; to place" and is used as a verb.
How do you write 放?
放 is made of 1 character: 放 (8 strokes). That is 8 strokes in total.
Is 放 an HSK word?
Yes. 放 is on the HSK 1 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
What is the difference between 放 and 把 when putting something somewhere?
放 is the actual verb meaning to put. 把 is a grammar word that moves the object before the verb, so they often appear together, as in 把杯子放下 (bǎ bēizi fàngxia), put the cup down.
How do you say to set off fireworks with 放?
Chinese uses 放 for setting off fireworks and firecrackers: 放烟花 (fàng yānhuā) and 放鞭炮 (fàng biānpào). This is a common phrase around Chinese New Year.