矾 (fán) is a Chinese character meaning “alum”. It is written from 石 (stone; rock) and 凡 (ordinary; every), side by side, and takes 8 strokes.
Build the character for “alum”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
石 + 凡
Left–right structure
Structure from: studyhanzi 现代字形拆分（⿰石凡；笔画数 5+3=8，已对 hanzi-writer-data 核验）
Memory aid
A mineral (石) that is nothing but ordinary (凡) rock salt to look at — yet drop it in cloudy water and the water turns clear. Both parts really are in this character.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
8 strokes
In real words
- 明矾míng fánalum (potassium aluminium sulfate)矾 = fán
- 白矾bái fánwhite alum矾 = fán
Go deeper
All readings
alum
alum; any of a group of crystalline sulfate minerals, used to purify water, fix dyes and as a traditional medicine
矾类矿物的统称，含硫酸盐的结晶，可用于净水、媒染和入药。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 明矾míng fánalum (potassium aluminium sulfate)矾 = fán
- 白矾bái fánwhite alum矾 = fán
Sound component
凡 family exact
Easy to confuse with
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 矾 mean?
矾 (fán) means alum; any of a group of crystalline sulfate minerals, used to purify water, fix dyes and as a traditional medicine.
How do you pronounce 矾?
It is pronounced fán.
What parts is 矾 made of?
石 (stone; rock) and 凡 (ordinary; every), side by side. The recorded source is: studyhanzi 现代字形拆分（⿰石凡；笔画数 5+3=8，已对 hanzi-writer-data 核验）. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 矾 have?
8. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 矾?
石. 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 矾?
Common ones are 明矾 and 白矾. The reading of 矾 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.