放 (fàng) means "to put, to release" with 8 strokes, radical 攵 (rap), HSK 3 on the new exam.
Pronunciation
Meaning
Primary: to put
Other meanings:
- to release
Etymology
Oracle-bone origin
放 is attested from bronze inscriptions onward as a phono-semantic compound. The left element 方 (fāng) supplies the sound, and the right element 攴 (a hand holding a stick, later written 攵) supplies the sense of striking or applying force. The original graph showed someone using a stick to drive something away.
Form evolution
From bronze script through seal script the two components stay clearly separate, with 攴 on the right retaining a visible hand-and-stick shape. In clerical script 攴 is regularised to 攵 (four strokes), and 方 is squared off. The modern 楷书 form 放 preserves this right-hand 攵 component, which also appears in 教, 政, 收, and other characters involving action or compulsion.
How the meaning evolved
The original sense was 'to drive out' or 'to banish', as in banishing a minister from court; preserved in the classical compound 放逐. From 'send away' it broadened to 'let go', 'release', then to 'place' or 'put', and finally to 'set free' and 'give off' (as with light or sound). Modern 放 covers all of these: 放学 (let out of school), 放心 (set one's heart at ease), 放假 (give holiday).
Cultural note
The banishment sense survives in 流放 (exile) and in the famous phrase 放虎归山, 'releasing the tiger back to the mountain', meaning to let a dangerous enemy escape. The 攵 component on the right is sometimes mistakenly written as 夂 by learners; 攵 has four strokes, 夂 has three.
Mnemonic
A hand tapping in a direction — to put, to release
Decomposition
Breaking a character into its components makes it far easier to recall. Each component above links to its own detail page.
Basic info
| Pinyin | fàng |
| Meanings | to put, to release |
| Stroke count | 8 strokes |
| Radical | 攵 (#66: rap) |
| New HSK exam | Recognise at HSK 3, write by hand at HSK 3 |
| Frequency | #48 most common |
Example sentences
Words containing 放
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | HSK |
|---|---|---|---|
| 放 | fàng | to put | HSK 3 |
| 放心 | fàngxīn | to be at ease | HSK 3 |
| 放弃 | fàngqì | give up | HSK 4 |
| 放暑假 | fàngshǔjià | summer vacation | |
| 放松 | fàngsōng | Relax | HSK 4 |
| 开放 | kāifàng | To open up | HSK 5 |
| 播放 | bōfàng | play | HSK 4 |
| 安放 | ānfàng | to lay, to place | |
| 奔放 | bēnfàng | bold and unconstrained | |
| 存放 | cúnfàng | to deposit, to leave with | HSK 5 |
| 放大 | fàngdà | to enlarge, to magnify | HSK 6 |
| 放射 | fàngshè | to radiate, radiation | HSK 7-9 |
| 放手 | fàngshǒu | to let go, to give up | |
| 放学 | fàngxué | to finish school | HSK 3 |
| 放纵 | fàngzòng | to indulge, to pamper | HSK 7-9 |
Related characters
Similar meaning (action)
On the new HSK 3 exam
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Frequently Asked Questions
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Reviewed by RJ Murray, Founder, HSK Lord.