瘋 (fēng) - Meaning, Stroke Order & Audio

瘋

fēng[feng1]Tone 1

insane, mad, wild

HSK 5

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疯

Guru Deep Dive

English · insane, mad, wild

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Topology:Left-right

Strokes:10

Writing Balance Rule: Keep the sickness radical on the left compact and well-balanced so the right-hand phonetic side has enough space to expand without looking disjointed.

Simplification Logic: The traditional form 瘋 uses 疒 on the left and 猋 on the right; the simplified form 疯 retains the sickness enclosure 疒 but simplifies the complex right side to 风.

1. Meaning

insane or mad

wild or uninhibitedenthusiastic to the point of distraction

AdjectiveNeutral#mental state#behavior#emotions

Sample Usage

他高兴得快疯了。
tā gāoxìng de kuài fēng le.
He is almost going crazy with joy.
别听他胡说八道，他疯了。
bié tīng tā húshuō bādào, tā fēng le.
Don't listen to his nonsense, he has gone mad.

2. Sound

/[fɤŋ⁵⁵]/Tone: 55

瘋

fēngfeng1

¯(55)

=fēng

Initial Consonant

Type: Labiodental Fricative

Sounds like: f sound

Unaspirated

Airflow Tactile Test: Continuous smooth friction.

Tongue & Mouth Position: Upper teeth resting lightly on the lower lip.

Final Rhyme

eng

Vowel Group: -e vowel group

Sounds like: -eng rhymes with -ung in lung

Mouth Shape Guide: Pronounce as standalone vowel 'uhng'.

Common Learner Trap: Keep vowel quality steady across all 4 tone contours.

Tone

T1 (55)

5 → 5 (55)

1st Tone (High-Flat)

Tone Pitch & Cadence: Tone 1 is a high, steady pitch like a musical note held flat at the top of your voice range.

👂

Listening trap: Do not confuse the 'f-' initial with 'h-' or 'ph-'; ensure firm labiodental contact for the fricative start.

👋

Physical Tone Gesture: Hold a flat, high horizontal hand gesture in front of your face, matching the high level pitch of Tone 1.

3. Writing

Topology: Left-right · Strokes: 10 strokes

Writing Balance Rule: Keep the sickness radical on the left compact and well-balanced so the right-hand phonetic side has enough space to expand without looking disjointed.

Simplification Logic: The traditional form 瘋 uses 疒 on the left and 猋 on the right; the simplified form 疯 retains the sickness enclosure 疒 but simplifies the complex right side to 风.

4. Components

Radical 疒 · Sickness Radical (illness, bed, conditions of suffering)

Semantic Clue (形旁): 疒 (Indicates a condition of illness or mental disorder.)

Phonetic Clue (声旁): 风 (original sound: fēng)

A person suffering from a sickness (疒) in their mind, swirling about like a turbulent wind (风).

疒 sickness or affliction
风 wind (provides the sound fēng)

Phonetic Family (形声字家族)

4· Phonetic Root: 風 ()

5. History

Liushu category: Phono-semantic (形声)

Origin: Combined from the sickness classifier 疒 and the phonetic element 风 (wind), originally portraying someone whose mind is blow about like wind.

Semantic Evolution: Originally denoting mental illness or madness, it extended over time to describe extreme wildness, fanaticism, or losing one's self-control.

In classical texts, it often specifically described rabies or severe epileptic fits.

6. Sinosphere

🇻🇳

Sino-Vietnamese

phong

Matches the high level or level tones depending on dialect usage.

🇯🇵

Kanji (Japanese)

On: フウ / Kun: くるう

🇰🇷

Hanja (Korean)

풍

7. Memory

Vivid Mnemonic Story

A person struck down by a sudden sickness (疒) whose brain has been completely blown away by a wild hurricane wind (风)—they have gone totally crazy (fēng)!

Phonetic Family (形声字家族)

枫

fēngmaple treeTree radical (木) + wind (风) = maple tree swaying in the wind.

讽

fěngto satire / mockSpeech radical (讠) + wind (风) = mocking words carried away by the wind.

Lookalikes & Traps (形近字)

封(fēng)

Uses the enclosure/soil radical (寸/土) meaning to seal or appoint, whereas 疯 uses the sickness radical (疒).

8. Mastery

Active Recall Challenge

他今天高興得像個[___]子一樣。

Clue: fēng

Common Learner Pitfall

Confusing the simplified right-hand component 风 with unrelated characters or misspelling the sickness radical 疒.

Memory Prompts

Recognition: When you see 疯, what is its primary meaning and Pinyin?

Production: How do you write the character for 'insane/mad' (fēng) combining sickness and wind?

瘋fēnginsane, mad, wild

Speed:

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