芳 (fāng) is a Chinese character meaning “fragrant”. It is written from 艹 (grass / plant radical) and 方 (square; direction (Kangxi radical 70)), one above the other, and takes 7 strokes.
Build the character for “fragrant”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
艹 + 方
Top–bottom structure
Structure from: 说文解字·艸部：芳，香艸也。从艸方聲
Memory aid
Grass (艹) over a square plot (方): a plot of herbs you can smell before you see it. 方 is also the sound — fāng on top of fāng.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
7 strokes
In real words
- 芬芳fēn fāngfragrant; sweet-smelling; fragrance芳 = fāng
- 芳菲fāng fēifragrant flowers and plants; fragrance (literary)芳 = fāng
Go deeper
All readings
fragrant
fragrant; sweet-smelling; (of a reputation) good, virtuous
花草的香气；香的。也比喻美好的名声或德行。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 芬芳fēn fāngfragrant; sweet-smelling; fragrance芳 = fāng
- 芳菲fāng fēifragrant flowers and plants; fragrance (literary)芳 = fāng
Sound component
方 family exact
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 芳 mean?
芳 (fāng) means fragrant; sweet-smelling; (of a reputation) good, virtuous.
How do you pronounce 芳?
It is pronounced fāng.
What parts is 芳 made of?
艹 (grass / plant radical) and 方 (square; direction (Kangxi radical 70)), one above the other. The recorded source is: 说文解字·艸部：芳，香艸也。从艸方聲. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 芳 have?
7. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 芳?
艸. 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 芳?
Common ones are 芬芳. The reading of 芳 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.