粉 (fěn) is a Chinese character meaning “powder”. It is written from 米 (rice (uncooked grains)) and 分 (to divide; a share), side by side, and takes 10 strokes.
Build the character for “powder”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
米 + 分
Left–right structure
Structure from: 现代字形拆分，依 hanzi-writer-data 笔画分组核验（前6笔=米，后4笔=分）
Memory aid
Take rice (米) and divide (分) it again and again into tiny bits — what you get is powder.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
10 strokes
In real words
- 面粉miàn fěnflour (wheat flour)粉 = fěn
- 粉丝fěn sīfans (of a person); also thin bean-starch noodles粉 = fěn
- 淀粉diàn fěnstarch粉 = fěn
Go deeper
All readings
powder
powder; flour; noodles made from starch; pink; fan (of a celebrity)
细末状的东西；用淀粉做的食品；粉红色；也指某人的爱好者（粉丝）。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 面粉miàn fěnflour (wheat flour)粉 = fěn
- 粉丝fěn sīfans (of a person); also thin bean-starch noodles粉 = fěn
- 淀粉diàn fěnstarch粉 = fěn
Sound component
分 family tone diff
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 粉 mean?
粉 (fěn) means powder; flour; noodles made from starch; pink; fan (of a celebrity).
How do you pronounce 粉?
It is pronounced fěn.
What parts is 粉 made of?
米 (rice (uncooked grains)) and 分 (to divide; a share), side by side. The recorded source is: 现代字形拆分，依 hanzi-writer-data 笔画分组核验（前6笔=米，后4笔=分）. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 粉 have?
10. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 粉?
米. 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 粉?
Common ones are 面粉 and 粉丝. The reading of 粉 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.