帆 (fān) is a Chinese character meaning “sail”. It is written from 巾 (cloth) and 凡 (ordinary; every), side by side, and takes 6 strokes.
Build the character for “sail”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
巾 + 凡
Left–right structure
Structure from: studyhanzi 构形核验（现代字形拆分 ⿰巾凡，笔画 3+3=6，与 hanzi-writer-data 笔顺一致）
Memory aid
A piece of cloth (巾) hung up by any ordinary (凡) boat to catch the wind. Both parts are really in this character — the cloth is the sail.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
6 strokes
In real words
- 帆船fān chuánsailboat; sailing ship帆 = fān
- 风帆fēng fānsail (of a boat)帆 = fān
Go deeper
All readings
sail
sail; canvas spread on a mast to catch the wind
挂在桅杆上、利用风力使船前进的布篷。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 帆船fān chuánsailboat; sailing ship帆 = fān
- 风帆fēng fānsail (of a boat)帆 = fān
Sound component
凡 family tone diff
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 帆 mean?
帆 (fān) means sail; canvas spread on a mast to catch the wind.
How do you pronounce 帆?
It is pronounced fān.
What parts is 帆 made of?
巾 (cloth) and 凡 (ordinary; every), side by side. The recorded source is: studyhanzi 构形核验（现代字形拆分 ⿰巾凡，笔画 3+3=6，与 hanzi-writer-data 笔顺一致）. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 帆 have?
6. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 帆?
巾. 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 帆?
Common ones are 帆船 and 风帆. The reading of 帆 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.