防 meaning in English

fáng

to protect; to defend

HSK 3verb6 strokes

Meaning of 防

Definitions from CC-CEDICT.

fáng

to protect
to defend
to guard against
to prevent

How to use 防

防 is usually used in compounds such as 防止 (fángzhǐ), 预防 (yùfáng) and 消防 (xiāofáng), and it also appears alone in set phrases like 防火 (fánghuǒ, fire prevention) and 防水 (fángshuǐ, waterproof). Example: 多喝水可以预防感冒。(Duō hē shuǐ kěyǐ yùfáng gǎnmào.) Drinking more water can help prevent colds.

防 has the mound radical 阝 on the left and 方 (fāng) on the right, which also gives the sound. Picture an earth wall or embankment built on one side to keep danger out.

Common mistake: Learners often write 访 (fǎng, to visit) or 房 (fáng, room) instead of 防, because all three share 方. Remember that 防 has the mound 阝 on the left for walls and defense, 访 has the speech radical 讠, and 房 has 户 (door) on top.

防 in example sentences

Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.

防fáng水shuǐ功gōng能néng可kě以yǐ加jiā分fēn。

Waterproof features would be a plus.

防fáng止zhǐ山shān火huǒ，人rén人rén有yǒu责zé。

The prevention of forest fires is everyone's responsibility.

带dài上shàng你nǐ的de外wài套tào以yǐ防fáng下xià雨yǔ。

Take your coat in case it rains.

这zhè手shǒu表biǎo是shì防fáng水shuǐ的de。

This watch is waterproof.

我wǒ们men总zǒng是shì应yīng该gāi带dài上shàng安ān全quán带dài以yǐ防fáng出chū事shì故gù。

We should always wear a seatbelt in case we have an accident.

Stroke order for each character

Open a character for its meaning, components and more words.

防 fáng · to protect · 6 strokes

Related words

Words that share a character with 防.

防止	fángzhǐ	to prevent; to guard against
预防	yùfáng	to prevent; to take precautions against
消防	xiāofáng	firefighting; fire control
防治	fángzhì	to prevent and cure; prevention and cure
防守	fángshǒu	to defend; to protect (against)
防范	fángfàn	to be on guard; wariness
防御	fángyù	defense; to defend
防卫	fángwèi	to defend; defensive
防护	fánghù	to defend; to protect
国防	guófáng	national defense
提防	dīfang	to guard against; to be vigilant
防火墙	fánghuǒqiáng	firewall

Questions about 防

What does 防 mean?

防 (fáng) means "to protect; to defend" and is used as a verb.

How do you write 防?

防 is made of 1 character: 防 (6 strokes). That is 6 strokes in total.

Is 防 an HSK word?

Yes. 防 is on the HSK 3 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.

What is the difference between 防止 and 预防?

防止 (fángzhǐ) means to stop something bad from happening and is often used for specific events, like 防止事故 (preventing accidents). 预防 (yùfáng) stresses taking precautions in advance and is common with diseases, like 预防疾病.

How is 防 used to make words like waterproof or anti-theft?

防 can go before a noun to mean protection against that thing, for example 防水 (fángshuǐ, waterproof), 防晒 (fángshài, sun protection) and 防盗 (fángdào, anti-theft). These words often describe products, such as 防晒霜 (fángshàishuāng, sunscreen).