What does 非 mean in Chinese?

非 (fēi) means "wrong, non, not, non-" in Chinese. The new HSK exam expects you to recognise it at HSK 1.

How do you write 非?

非 is written with 8 strokes, starting from the 非 (wrong) radical and following standard Chinese stroke order (top to bottom, left to right). See the interactive stroke-order tool for the full animation.

What is the radical of 非?

The radical of 非 is 非 (wrong, Kangxi radical #175).

How many strokes does 非 have?

The Chinese character 非 has 8 strokes.

What HSK level is 非?

On the new HSK exam syllabus, 非 is a character to recognise at HSK 1.

非 (fēi): Meaning, Stroke Order, Radical & Examples

非

fēi

wrong, non, not, non-

HSK 1 character 8 strokes Radical: 非 (wrong)

Quick Answer

非 (fēi) means "wrong, non, not" with 8 strokes, radical 非 (wrong), HSK 1 on the new exam.

Full dictionary entry for 非 →Animated stroke-order for 非 →

Pronunciation

fēi

Meaning

Primary: wrong

Other meanings:

non
not
non-

Etymology

Oracle-bone origin

非 appears in oracle bone and bronze script as a pictograph of two wings spread in opposite directions, depicting a bird's wings facing away from each other. The symmetry of two mirrored shapes turning away from a central axis is what gives the character its original sense. Some scholars link it to 飞 (fēi, to fly), which shares the wing imagery.

Form evolution

Bronze forms show two curved shapes back to back. Seal script regularized these into two vertical columns of three horizontal strokes each, facing outward. Clerical script straightened the curves into the familiar form, and modern楷书 preserves this as 非 with three strokes on each side of a central vertical axis.

How the meaning evolved

The original 'opposing wings' imagery gave rise to the core abstract meaning 'to be contrary to' or 'not'. From classical Chinese onward it has been used as a negator meaning 'is not' (非人, not human), as a prefix for 'non-' (非法, illegal), and in the construction 非…不可 ('must, cannot but'). The sense of pictorial wings was lost early.

Cultural note

The idiom 是非 (shìfēi), literally 'is and is-not', means 'right and wrong' or 'gossip', and shows how 非 became the standard antonym of 是. Learners should note that 非 as a negator is more formal or literary than 不 or 没 and often carries a stronger, more categorical tone (非常 = extremely, literally 'not ordinary').

Mnemonic

Two wings going opposite ways — not, wrong

Basic info

Pinyin	fēi
Meanings	wrong, non, not, non-
Stroke count	8 strokes
Radical	非 (#175: wrong)
New HSK exam	Recognise at HSK 1
Frequency	#201 most common

Example sentences

非常好！
Fēicháng hǎo!
Very good!
From 非常 (HSK 1)
除非有紧急情况，否则我们准时开会。
Chúfēi yǒu jǐnjí qíngkuàng, fǒuzé wǒmen zhǔnshí kāihuì.
Unless there's an emergency, we'll have the meeting on time.
From 除非 (HSK 6)
这种做法非但没有帮助，反而造成了更多问题。
Zhè zhǒng zuòfǎ fēidàn méiyǒu bāngzhù, fǎn'ér zàochéng le gèng duō wèntí.
This approach not only didn't help, but instead created more problems.
From 非 (HSK 7-9)

Words containing 非

Word	Pinyin	Meaning	HSK
非常	fēicháng	very	HSK 1
除非	chúfēi	Unless	HSK 6
非	fēi	wrong; non	HSK 7-9
并非	bìngfēi	really isn't, is by no means	HSK 7-9
非但	fēidàn	not only	HSK 7-9
非法	fēifǎ	illegal, unlawful	HSK 7-9
非凡	fēifán	extraordinary, outstanding	HSK 7-9