髮 (fà) - Meaning, Stroke Order & Audio

髮

fà[fa4]Tone 4

hair

HSK 2

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发

Guru Deep Dive

English · hair

Cached lesson

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Topology:Top-bottom

Strokes:5

Writing Balance Rule: Keep the top components balanced and ensure the bottom trailing strokes provide a stable foundation without slanting.

Simplification Logic: The traditional character 髮 was simplified to 发 by merging components and adopting a simplified cursive-derived form to reduce stroke complexity.

1. Meaning

hair on the head

human hairhairstyle

NounNeutralBound morpheme#anatomy#body parts#appearance

Sample Usage

头发
tóufa
hair
理发
lǐfà
to get a haircut

2. Sound

/[fa⁵¹]/Tone: 51

髮

fàfa4

`(51)

=fà

Initial Consonant

Type: Labiodental Fricative

Sounds like: f sound as in 'four'

Unaspirated

Airflow Tactile Test: Continuous smooth friction.

Tongue & Mouth Position: Upper teeth touching the lower lip gently, air passes through.

Final Rhyme

Vowel Group: -a vowel group

Sounds like: a sound as in 'father'

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

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

Tone

T4 (51)

5 → 1 (51)

4th Tone (High-Falling)

Tone Pitch & Cadence: Tone 4 starts high and drops immediately, sounding like an emphatic command or a disappointed 'No!'.

👂

Listening trap: Do not confuse the sound with the first tone (fā - to send out), as this character uses the fourth tone (fà) when referring to hair.

👋

Physical Tone Gesture: A sharp, authoritative chop downward with your hand, mirroring the falling pitch.

3. Writing

Topology: Top-bottom · Strokes: 5 strokes

Writing Balance Rule: Keep the top components balanced and ensure the bottom trailing strokes provide a stable foundation without slanting.

Simplification Logic: The traditional character 髮 was simplified to 发 by merging components and adopting a simplified cursive-derived form to reduce stroke complexity.

4. Components

Radical 又 · Right Hand Radical (hand, again)

The traditional character depicted strands of hair under a comb and head, while the simplified character 发 combines a top component with the hand radical 又 at the bottom.

⺂ top adornment or hair contour
又 hand or structural base

Phonetic Family (形声字家族)

10· Phonetic Root: 犮 (bá)

5. History

Liushu category: Phono-semantic (形声)

Origin: Originally depicted a person's long hair and head in oracle bone scripts, gradually evolving into standardized components over dynasties.

Semantic Evolution: Originally referred exclusively to human head hair, later extended into compounds related to grooming, hair styles, and fiber-like textures.

In traditional Chinese culture, hair was viewed as a precious gift from one's parents and cutting it off carried deep ritual or punitive significance.

6. Sinosphere

7. Memory

Vivid Mnemonic Story

Imagine grabbing a handful of HAIR (fà) with your HAND (radical 又) while getting a sharp haircut.

Phonetic Family (形声字家族)

发

fāto send out, to emitSame written form, different tone and meaning (fā vs fà).

Lookalikes & Traps (形近字)

友(yǒu)

友 has a horizontal stroke crossing under the top dot, whereas 发 has a slanted top stroke structure.

8. Mastery

Active Recall Challenge

她的[___]很長也很黑。

Clue: tóu fa

Common Learner Pitfall

Confusing the fourth tone pronunciation (fà) when used in '头发' (tóufa, where fa becomes neutral tone in speech) with the first tone (fā - to issue/send).

Memory Prompts

Recognition: When you see the character 发 meaning hair, what is its standard reading and tone?

Production: How do you write the character for hair (fà) and what is its stroke count?

髮fàhair

Speed:

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