沸 (fèi) is a Chinese character meaning “to boil”. It is written from 氵 (water (left-side form)) and 弗 (not (classical negative); here used for its sound fú), side by side, and takes 8 strokes.
Build the character for “to boil”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
氵 + 弗
Left–right structure
- 氵 water (left-side form) · shuǐ meaning
- 弗 not (classical negative); here used for its sound fú · fú sound
Structure from: 说文解字「沸，畢沸，濫泉也。从水，弗聲」；IDS 拆分 ⿰氵弗，并以 hanzi-writer-data 笔画核验：笔画 0–2 为「氵」，笔画 3–7 为「弗」（3+5=8画）
Memory aid
Water (氵) on the left, 弗 on the right — the water is so hot it will 弗 (not) stay still: it bubbles and boils.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
8 strokes
In real words
- 沸腾fèi téngto boil; to seethe (with excitement)沸 = fèi
- 沸水fèi shuǐboiling water沸 = fèi
Go deeper
All readings
to boil
to boil; boiling; (of liquid) to bubble up from heat
液体受热到一定温度而翻滚起泡；开。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 沸腾fèi téngto boil; to seethe (with excitement)沸 = fèi
- 沸水fèi shuǐboiling water沸 = fèi
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 沸 mean?
沸 (fèi) means to boil; boiling; (of liquid) to bubble up from heat.
How do you pronounce 沸?
It is pronounced fèi.
What parts is 沸 made of?
氵 (water (left-side form)) and 弗 (not (classical negative); here used for its sound fú), side by side. The recorded source is: 说文解字「沸，畢沸，濫泉也。从水，弗聲」；IDS 拆分 ⿰氵弗，并以 hanzi-writer-data 笔画核验：笔画 0–2 为「氵」，笔画 3–7 为「弗」（3+5=8画）. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 沸 have?
8. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 沸?
氵. 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 沸?
Common ones are 沸腾 and 沸水. The reading of 沸 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.