Meaning of 方
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- square
- power or involution (math.)
- upright
- honest
- fair and square
- direction
- side
- party (to a contract, dispute etc)
- surname Fang
How to use 方
方 rarely stands alone in everyday speech and mostly appears in compounds about direction, side, or method, such as 方向 (fāngxiàng), 方法 (fāngfǎ), and 方便 (fāngbiàn). It also means a side or party, as in 双方 (shuāngfāng, both sides). Example: 这里很方便。(Zhèlǐ hěn fāngbiàn.) This place is very convenient.
Picture 方 (fāng) as a person standing with a dot on top and arms stretched out, pointing in one direction. Think of it as someone at the corner of a square field, choosing which side to walk toward.
Common mistake: Learners often confuse 方 with 万 (wàn, ten thousand) because both have a hooked stroke, but 方 has a dot on top and a full horizontal line. Also note that in 地方 (dìfang, place) the 方 is usually read in the neutral tone, not fāng.
方 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.
方 fāng · square · 4 strokes
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
Related words
Words that share a character with 方.
| 地方 | dìfang | region; regional (away from the central administration) |
| 方法 | fāngfǎ | method; way; technique; procedure |
| 方向 | fāngxiàng | direction; orientation |
| 方面 | fāngmiàn | respect; aspect |
| 方便 | fāngbiàn | convenient; suitable; to facilitate; to make things easy |
| 南方 | nánfāng | south; southern direction; (in China) southern regions, often referring to areas south of |
| 北方 | běifāng | north; the northern part a country |
| 西方 | xīfāng | the West; the Occident |
| 东方 | dōngfāng | east |
| 方便面 | fāngbiànmiàn | instant noodles |
| 方式 | fāngshì | way; method; manner; mode; pattern (of behavior etc) |
| 对方 | duìfāng | the other person; the other side; the other party |
Questions about 方
What does 方 mean?
方 (fāng) means "square; power or involution (math.)" and is used as a adjective and noun.
How do you write 方?
方 is made of 1 character: 方 (4 strokes). That is 4 strokes in total.
Is 方 an HSK word?
Yes. 方 is on the HSK 4 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
What is the difference between 地方 dìfang and 地方 dìfāng?
Said with a neutral tone, 地方 (dìfang) is the everyday word for a place or spot. Said as dìfāng, it means local or regional, as opposed to central government, as in 地方政府 (dìfāng zhèngfǔ, local government).
How is 方 used in math?
方 means a power, and it shows up in phrases like 平方 (píngfāng, square) and 立方 (lìfāng, cube). For example, 三的平方 (sān de píngfāng) means three squared, and 平方米 (píngfāngmǐ) means square meter.