飞 (fēi) means "to fly" with 3 strokes, radical 飞 (fly), HSK 1 on the new exam.
Pronunciation
Meaning
Primary: to fly
Etymology
Oracle-bone origin
The traditional 飛 pictographed a bird in flight with wings outstretched and a visible neck or head at the top. Oracle-bone attestations are rare, but bronze and seal forms clearly depict a bird rising with two wings splayed on either side of a central body line. It is a pure pictograph, not a phono-semantic compound.
Form evolution
Bronze script shows a recognisable bird silhouette with symmetrical wings. Seal script stylised the wings into paired curves and the body into a vertical line, and clerical script further flattened these into the traditional 飛 with its complex upper wings and lower 升-like element. The simplified 飞 keeps only the right-hand wing and the central body, stripping the character to three strokes while retaining the upward-sweeping motion of the original image.
How the meaning evolved
The original meaning was the physical flight of birds. It extended to any rapid movement through the air (飞机 airplane, 飞行 flying), then metaphorically to extreme speed (飞快 very fast, 飞涨 to skyrocket). In classical Chinese it could also describe anything that moves suddenly or without visible cause, such as flying rumors (飞语).
Cultural note
The idiom 龙飞凤舞 ('dragons flying, phoenixes dancing') describes flamboyant, energetic calligraphy and preserves 飞's original sense of vivid airborne motion. Learners sometimes miscount the strokes of simplified 飞 as four; the correct count is three, with the long first stroke combining a horizontal, a hook, and a tail in a single movement.
Mnemonic
A bird soaring with spread wings — to fly
Basic info
| Pinyin | fēi |
| Meanings | to fly |
| Stroke count | 3 strokes |
| Radical | 飞 (#183: fly) |
| New HSK exam | Recognise at HSK 1 |
| Frequency | #202 most common |
Example sentences
Words containing 飞
Related characters
Similar meaning (action)
On the new HSK 1 exam
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Frequently Asked Questions
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Reviewed by RJ Murray, Founder, HSK Lord.