Meaning of 飞
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- to fly
How to use 飞
飞 is a basic verb for birds, planes, and anything moving through the air, and it often takes a destination or direction after it. It appears in many common words like 飞机 (fēijī, airplane) and 起飞 (qǐfēi, to take off). Example: 鸟在天上飞。(Niǎo zài tiān shàng fēi.) The bird is flying in the sky.
The simplified 飞 (fēi) looks like a bird's wing sweeping up, with two small strokes like feathers flapping. Picture one wing lifting off and you have "to fly."
Common mistake: Learners often write 飞 with the two small dots on the wrong side or forget them entirely, which makes it look like 乙. The dots sit inside the hook, one above the other.
飞 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.
飞 fēi · to fly · 3 strokes
- 1
- 2
- 3
Related words
Words that share a character with 飞.
| 飞机 | fēijī | airplane |
| 起飞 | qǐfēi | (of an aircraft or rocket) to take off; to lift off; (fig.) (of an enterprise etc) to star |
| 飞行 | fēixíng | to fly; flight |
| 飞船 | fēichuán | spaceship; spacecraft |
| 飞行员 | fēixíngyuán | pilot; aviator |
| 飞翔 | fēixiáng | to circle in the air; to soar |
| 飞往 | fēiwǎng | |
| 飞跃 | fēiyuè | to leap |
| 飞速 | fēisù | swift; rapidly |
| 不翼而飞 | bùyì'érfēi | to disappear without trace; to vanish all of a sudden |
| 飞过 | fēiguò | to fly over; to fly past |
| 飞弹 | fēidàn | (Tw) missile; stray bullet |
Questions about 飞
What does 飞 mean?
飞 (fēi) means "to fly" and is used as a verb.
How do you write 飞?
飞 is made of 1 character: 飞 (3 strokes). That is 3 strokes in total.
Is 飞 an HSK word?
Yes. 飞 is on the HSK 1 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
How is 飞 written in traditional Chinese?
In traditional characters, 飞 is written 飛.
Can 飞 mean to travel by plane?
Yes. Chinese speakers often say 飞 for flying somewhere as a passenger, as in 我明天飞北京 (Wǒ míngtiān fēi Běijīng), I fly to Beijing tomorrow. You can also say 坐飞机去 (zuò fēijī qù), to go by plane.
What is the difference between 飞 and 飞翔?
飞 is the everyday word for any flying. 飞翔 (fēixiáng) is more literary and describes soaring or circling gracefully, so it is used more in writing about birds or dreams than in casual talk.