放 (fàng) is a Chinese character meaning “to release”. It is written from 方 (square; direction (Kangxi radical 70)) and 攵 (a hand holding a stick; marks an action done to something), side by side, and takes 8 strokes.
Build the character for “to let go; to put”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
方 + 攵
Left–right structure
- 方 square; direction (Kangxi radical 70) · fāng sound
- 攵 a hand holding a stick; marks an action done to something · pū meaning
Structure from: 现代字形拆分，经 hanzi-writer-data 笔画数据核验（方4画 + 攵4画 = 8画）；声符归属见《说文解字》「放：从攴方聲」
Memory aid
方 points in a direction; 攵 is the hand with a stick that acts on something. A hand sends it off that way — you let it go.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
8 strokes
In real words
- 放心fàng xīnto rest assured; to feel at ease; to stop worrying放 = fàng
- 放弃fàng qìto give up; to abandon; to relinquish放 = fàng
- 放屁fàng pìto fart; (figurative) to talk nonsense放 = fàng
- 放牧fàng mùto graze; to put animals out to pasture放 = fàng
- 放假fàng jiàto have a holiday or vacation放 = fàng
- 放映fàng yìngto show a film; to screen (a movie)放 = fàng
- 绽放zhàn fàngto burst into bloom; to blossom放 = fàng
Go deeper
All readings
to let go; to put
to release; to let go; to set free; to put or place something somewhere
解除约束，让人或物离开；也指把东西搁在某处。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 放心fàng xīnto rest assured; to feel at ease; to stop worrying放 = fàng
- 放弃fàng qìto give up; to abandon; to relinquish放 = fàng
- 放屁fàng pìto fart; (figurative) to talk nonsense放 = fàng
- 放牧fàng mùto graze; to put animals out to pasture放 = fàng
- 放假fàng jiàto have a holiday or vacation放 = fàng
- 放映fàng yìngto show a film; to screen (a movie)放 = fàng
- 绽放zhàn fàngto burst into bloom; to blossom放 = fàng
Sound component
方 family tone diff
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 放 mean?
放 (fàng) means to release; to let go; to set free; to put or place something somewhere.
How do you pronounce 放?
It is pronounced fàng.
What parts is 放 made of?
方 (square; direction (Kangxi radical 70)) and 攵 (a hand holding a stick; marks an action done to something), side by side. The recorded source is: 现代字形拆分，经 hanzi-writer-data 笔画数据核验（方4画 + 攵4画 = 8画）；声符归属见《说文解字》「放：从攴方聲」. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 放 have?
8. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 放?
攵. 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 放?
Common ones are 放心 and 放弃. The reading of 放 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.