奋 (fèn) is a Chinese character meaning “to rouse oneself”. It is written from 大 (big) and 田 (field; farmland), one above the other, and takes 8 strokes.
Build the character for “to rouse oneself; to strive”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
大 + 田
Top–bottom structure
Structure from: modern-glyph-decomposition (hanzi-writer-data 笔画核验: 奋 8 画 = 大 3 画 + 田 5 画)
Memory aid
Someone throwing their arms wide open (大) above a field (田) — standing up and rousing themselves for the work ahead.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
8 strokes
In real words
- 奋斗fèn dòuto strive; to struggle for a goal奋 = fèn
- 兴奋xīng fènexcited; excitement奋 = fèn
- 亢奋kàng fènexcited; stimulated; worked up奋 = fèn
Go deeper
All readings
to rouse oneself
to rouse oneself; to exert effort; to act vigorously
振作；鼓起劲来用力去做。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 奋斗fèn dòuto strive; to struggle for a goal奋 = fèn
- 兴奋xīng fènexcited; excitement奋 = fèn
- 亢奋kàng fènexcited; stimulated; worked up奋 = fèn
Easy to confuse with
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 奋 mean?
奋 (fèn) means to rouse oneself; to exert effort; to act vigorously.
How do you pronounce 奋?
It is pronounced fèn.
What parts is 奋 made of?
大 (big) and 田 (field; farmland), one above the other. The recorded source is: modern-glyph-decomposition (hanzi-writer-data 笔画核验: 奋 8 画 = 大 3 画 + 田 5 画). Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 奋 have?
8. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 奋?
大. 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 奋?
Common ones are 奋斗 and 兴奋. The reading of 奋 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.