发
fā
- Pinyin
- fā
- Pinyin (Plain)
- fa
- Tone
- 1
- Strokes
- 5
- Radical
- 又
- Readings
- fāfaTone: 1to send out; to show (one's feeling); to issue; to develop; to make a bundle of money; classifier for gunshots (rounds)Order: 0Primary
- Stroke Order Code
- Speed
- Stroke Order Data
- ["M 473 510 Q 587 543 779 546 Q 804 543 815 552 Q 822 559 815 572 Q 808 585 762 607 Q 735 619 670 600 Q 589 587 493 560 L 432 542 Q 377 529 326 510 Q 310 503 306 508 Q 300 512 305 525 Q 324 598 336 620 Q 345 633 333 648 Q 315 673 284 689 Q 271 696 260 688 Q 253 684 262 664 Q 277 633 270 591 Q 257 530 228 503 Q 213 487 219 473 Q 228 451 247 431 Q 260 418 280 433 Q 328 473 412 495 L 473 510 Z", "M 415 390 Q 448 451 473 510 L 493 560 Q 533 695 538 720 Q 542 751 560 781 Q 573 802 552 815 Q 522 836 481 844 Q 462 848 453 842 Q 446 835 453 817 Q 508 724 432 542 L 412 495 Q 325 311 211 195 Q 162 149 98 95 Q 91 88 89 82 Q 88 75 104 83 Q 288 165 404 368 L 415 390 Z", "M 587 187 Q 627 242 656 324 Q 666 361 688 380 Q 706 395 687 412 Q 665 431 629 447 Q 607 456 582 445 Q 524 411 440 395 Q 425 394 415 390 C 386 384 376 377 404 368 Q 405 367 410 365 Q 440 352 482 367 Q 530 380 576 393 Q 592 400 595 381 Q 595 314 544 224 L 521 193 Q 503 172 482 152 Q 415 100 243 55 Q 225 52 235 42 Q 242 35 275 37 Q 387 47 452 74 Q 512 101 558 152 L 587 187 Z", "M 558 152 Q 702 8 734 1 Q 834 1 912 15 Q 949 21 947 31 Q 944 43 761 86 Q 679 116 587 187 L 544 224 Q 510 254 477 287 Q 440 324 404 324 Q 386 325 383 319 Q 382 312 398 302 Q 435 281 521 193 L 558 152 Z", "M 673 728 Q 707 700 742 667 Q 755 655 770 655 Q 780 656 785 669 Q 789 682 781 711 Q 772 745 669 774 Q 654 778 648 775 Q 644 771 644 759 Q 648 749 673 728 Z"]
- Meaning
- In modern Chinese, 发 most commonly means “to send out” or “to let something out,” such as to send a message, issue something, or emit/produce (sound, light, emotion). It can also mean “to grow/develop” (like hair growing or an economy developing) and, in some words, “to become rich” (as in 发财 “get rich”).
- Metadata
- Locale: enCached At: 3/24/2026, 7:17:57 PM
Usage
“发” is an extremely common and versatile character that learners meet early. Its core ideas are “to send out,” “to emit,” “to develop,” or “to start.” In everyday verbs, it shows up in words like 发短信/发邮件 (to send a text/email), 发消息 (to send a message), 发音 (pronunciation), 发现 (to discover), 发展 (to develop), and 发生 (to happen). It’s also used for “to issue” or “to hand out,” as in 发工资 (to pay wages), 发票 (receipt/invoice), and 发布 (to release/announce). Many learners also first see it in the New Year phrase 发财 (to become rich), especially in 恭喜发财. Another very common meaning is “hair,” where 发 is usually read as fà, especially in the word 头发 (hair on the head). It can also relate to physical or emotional states “flaring up” or “coming out,” such as 发烧 (to have a fever), 发脾气 (to lose one’s temper), or 发愁 (to worry). Because it appears in so many high‑frequency words with slightly different translations, learners benefit from remembering the general idea of something “coming out / starting / growing” and then noticing how that idea adapts in each compound.
Handwriting Notes
发 in handwriting usually looks more rounded and compact than in print. The top “semi-enclosure” (𠂉-like part) tends to be written with a smooth, slightly curved sweep rather than crisp, straight angles, and the lower component often becomes a flowing shape where the short left-falling stroke and the hooked stroke connect more naturally. In faster writing, the small inner dot/short stroke may shrink, shift position, or almost merge with nearby strokes, so the character can appear lighter or more simplified than the printed 发, but it keeps a clear top–bottom structure and an overall slightly slanted, dynamic feel. Handwritten forms vary with personal style: some people write it more boxy and close to the print form, others let the lower strokes open up or bend more, and in cursive styles the bottom can reduce to just a couple of swift lines. These variations are common and usually still readable because the overall silhouette and stroke directions stay recognizable. Modern AI handwriting recognition systems (such as those in input methods on phones, tablets, and OCR software) are trained to handle these different handwritten shapes and speeds, so they can correctly identify 发 even when individual strokes are merged, curved, or slightly out of proportion.
Description
发 is a common simplified Chinese character meaning “to emit,” “to send out,” “to develop,” or “to grow” depending on context. It appears in everyday words like 发现 (to discover), 发生 (to happen), 发出 (to send out), and 发展 (to develop). It is pronounced fā in most of these uses, and fà when meaning “hair” in words like 头发 (hair).