妨 (fáng) is a Chinese character meaning “to hinder”. It is written from 女 (woman; female) and 方 (square; direction (Kangxi radical 70)), side by side, and takes 7 strokes.
Build the character for “to hinder”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
女 + 方
Left–right structure
Structure from: 说文解字（妨，害也。从女方聲）
Memory aid
A woman (女) plants herself squarely (方) in the doorway — nobody gets past. That is what 妨 does to your plans: it hinders them.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
7 strokes
In real words
- 妨碍fáng àito hinder; to obstruct妨 = fáng
- 不妨bù fángmight as well; there is no harm in妨 = fáng
Go deeper
All readings
to hinder
to hinder; to obstruct; to get in the way of
阻碍、使事情不能顺利进行。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 妨碍fáng àito hinder; to obstruct妨 = fáng
- 不妨bù fángmight as well; there is no harm in妨 = fáng
Sound component
方 family tone diff
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 妨 mean?
妨 (fáng) means to hinder; to obstruct; to get in the way of.
How do you pronounce 妨?
It is pronounced fáng.
What parts is 妨 made of?
女 (woman; female) and 方 (square; direction (Kangxi radical 70)), side by side. The recorded source is: 说文解字（妨，害也。从女方聲）. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 妨 have?
7. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 妨?
女. 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 妨?
Common ones are 妨碍 and 不妨. The reading of 妨 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.