坊 (fāng) is a Chinese character meaning “a city block or lane”. It is written from 土 (earth; soil) and 方 (square; direction (Kangxi radical 70)), side by side, and takes 7 strokes. It has a second reading, fáng, which turns up in 磨坊 — here the two readings are two separate things to learn, not one card with two answers.
Build the character for “lane; archway”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
土 + 方
Left–right structure
Structure from: studyhanzi 现代字形拆分（对照 hanzi-writer-data 2.0.1 笔画核验：土 3 画 + 方 4 画 = 7 画）
Memory aid
Earth (土) laid out in squares (方) — a city block, walled off into lanes and workshops.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
7 strokes
In real words
- 牌坊pái fāngmemorial archway; decorated gateway坊 = fāng
- 坊间fāng jiānamong the people; on the street; in the marketplace坊 = fāng
Go deeper
All readings
lane; archway
a city block or lane; a memorial archway spanning a street
街市里的一段地方，也指跨街而立的牌坊。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 牌坊pái fāngmemorial archway; decorated gateway坊 = fāng
- 坊间fāng jiānamong the people; on the street; in the marketplace坊 = fāng
workshop
a small workshop or mill, used in the names of trades
小型加工场所，多用于行业名称。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 磨坊mò fángmill; grain-grinding workshop坊 = fáng
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 坊 mean?
坊 (fāng) means a city block or lane; a memorial archway spanning a street.
How do you pronounce 坊?
Its main reading is fāng. It also has a second reading, fáng, which only shows up in certain words such as 磨坊 — so the word tells you the reading, not the character on its own.
Why is 坊 sometimes pronounced fáng?
Because it is a multi-reading character: each reading carries a different sense, and the word decides which one applies. In 磨坊 it is read fáng.
What parts is 坊 made of?
土 (earth; soil) and 方 (square; direction (Kangxi radical 70)), side by side. The recorded source is: studyhanzi 现代字形拆分（对照 hanzi-writer-data 2.0.1 笔画核验：土 3 画 + 方 4 画 = 7 画）. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 坊 have?
7. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 坊?
土. The radical is how the character is filed in a dictionary — it is not the whole story of how the character is built.
What words use 坊?
Common ones are 牌坊 and 坊间. The reading of 坊 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.