法 (fǎ) is a Chinese character meaning “law”. It is written from 氵 (water (left-side form)) and 去 (to go; to leave), side by side, and takes 8 strokes.
Build the character for “law; method”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
氵 + 去
Left–right structure
Structure from: IDS 拆分 ⿰氵去，并以 hanzi-writer-data 笔画核验：笔画 0–2 为「氵」三点（与 radStrokes 一致），笔画 3–7 与「去」逐笔对应（3+5=8画）
Memory aid
Water (氵) on the left, and 去 "to go" on the right: the law is the channel everyone goes along, and it stays as level as water.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
8 strokes
In real words
- 办法bàn fǎway; method; means of doing something法 = fǎHSK 3
- 无法wú fǎunable to; cannot法 = fǎ
- 刑法xíng fǎcriminal law法 = fǎ
- 戊戌变法wù xū biàn fǎthe Hundred Days' Reform of 1898法 = fǎ
- 违法wéi fǎto break the law; illegal法 = fǎ
- 宪法xiàn fǎconstitution (of a country)法 = fǎ
- 法庭fǎ tíngcourt of law; courtroom法 = fǎHSK 5
- 法律fǎ lǜlaw; statute法 = fǎ
Go deeper
All readings
law; method
law; rule; method; way of doing something
国家制定的规则；也指做事的方式、办法。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 办法bàn fǎway; method; means of doing something法 = fǎHSK 3
- 无法wú fǎunable to; cannot法 = fǎ
- 刑法xíng fǎcriminal law法 = fǎ
- 戊戌变法wù xū biàn fǎthe Hundred Days' Reform of 1898法 = fǎ
- 违法wéi fǎto break the law; illegal法 = fǎ
- 宪法xiàn fǎconstitution (of a country)法 = fǎ
- 法庭fǎ tíngcourt of law; courtroom法 = fǎHSK 5
- 法律fǎ lǜlaw; statute法 = fǎ
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 法 mean?
法 (fǎ) means law; rule; method; way of doing something.
How do you pronounce 法?
It is pronounced fǎ.
What parts is 法 made of?
氵 (water (left-side form)) and 去 (to go; to leave), side by side. The recorded source is: IDS 拆分 ⿰氵去，并以 hanzi-writer-data 笔画核验：笔画 0–2 为「氵」三点（与 radStrokes 一致），笔画 3–7 与「去」逐笔对应（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 法 have?
8. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 法?
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 法?
Common ones are 办法 and 无法. The reading of 法 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.