繁 (fán): complicated, many, in great numbers
繁 (fán) is a Chinese character meaning “complicated.” Classified as HSK Level 5 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of 敏 (phonetic) and 糸 (semantic). It ranks #1288 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).
Etymologically derived, 繁 silk. Its radical form 纟 (silk) appears in many related characters such as 系 (xì, to connect), 累 (lěi, to accumulate), 绍 (shào, to continue).
Definitions
- complicated
- many
- in great numbers
Etymology & Origin
Stroke Order
Practice writing 繁 with real-time feedback — trace each stroke in the correct order and build muscle memory in the HanziFeed app.
Words & Compounds
HSK Vocabulary with 繁
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | HSK |
|---|---|---|---|
| 频繁adjective | pín fán | frequently | 6 |
| 繁殖verb | fán zhí | to breed | 6 |
| 繁忙 | fán máng | busy | 6 |
| 繁荣adjective/verb | fán róng | prosperous | 5 |
Common Compounds
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 繁衍 | fán yǎn | to multiply |
| 繁星 | fán xīng | many stars |
| 繁华 | fán huá | flourishing |
| 繁重 | fán zhòng | heavy |
| 繁文缛节 | fán wén rù jié | convoluted and overelaborate (document) |
| 繁琐 | fán suǒ | many and complicated |
| 繁复 | fán fù | complicated |
| 繁杂 | fán zá | many |
| 繁多 | fán duō | many and varied |
| 繁荣昌盛 | fán róng chāng shèng | glorious and flourishing (idiom) |
| 纷繁 | fēn fán | numerous and complicated |
| 繁体 | fán tǐ | traditional form of Chinese, as opposed to simplified form 簡體|简体[jian3 ti3] |
| 繁茂 | fán mào | (of vegetation) lush |
| 繁育 | fán yù | to breed |
| 繁盛 | fán shèng | prosperous |
繁 appears in 55 compound words: 64 as the first character, 13 as the last, and 24 in a middle position. Compound statistics computed from SUBTLEX-CH and HSK 3.0 vocabulary data.
Strongest Collocations
Characters that most frequently co-occur with 繁 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.
Idioms & Chengyu (5)
Showing 4 of 5 idioms containing 繁.
Example Sentences
我在字典里查到了繁字的详细解释。
wǒ zài zì diǎn lǐ chá dào le fán zì de xiáng xì xiè shì .
I looked up the detailed explanation of the traditional character in the dictionary.
避孕药吃多了会怎么样?频繁使用会导致月经紊乱吗
bì yùn yào chī duō le huì zěn má yàng ? pín fán shǐ yòng huì dǎo zhì yuè jīng wěn luàn ma
What happens if you take too many birth control pills? Can frequent use cause menstrual disorders?
军事论坛丨以简驭繁:用简单规则“智”胜未来
jūn shì lùn tán 丨 yǐ jiǎn yù fán : yòng jiǎn dān guī zé zhì shèng wèi lái
Military Forum丨Control complexity with simplicity: "smart" with simple rules to win the future
...超20°C!降温继续南下,南方多地降雨频繁期开启
. . . chāo 2 0 C ! jiàng wēn jì xù nán xià , nán fāng duō dì jiàng yǔ pín fán qī kāi qǐ
... Over 20°C! The cooling continues to move south, and frequent rainfall periods in many places in the south begin
视频丨繁荣昌盛,越来越好!这个春节听听大家给祖国...
shì pín 丨 fán róng chāng shèng , yuè lái yuè hǎo ! zhè gè chūn jié tīng tīng dà jiā gěi zǔ guó . . .
Video丨Prosperity and prosperity, getting better and better! This Spring Festival, listen to everyone give the motherland...
玛雅文明繁荣了多久？
Mǎyǎ wénmíng fánróng le duōjiǔ?
For how long did the Maya culture flourish?
地震频繁地袭击日本。
Dìzhèn pínfán de xíjī Rìběn.
Earthquakes frequently hit Japan.
数月后，牠们回到了北极的繁殖地。
Shùyuè hòu, tā men huídào le běijí de fánzhí de.
A few months later they return to their breeding grounds in the Arctic.
经济繁荣稳定，是每个政府都想达到的目标。
Jīngjìfánróng wěndìng, shì měi gè zhèngfǔ dōu xiǎng dádào de mùbiāo.
A stable economy is the aim of every government.
不好意思，现在线路繁忙。
Bù hǎoyìsi, xiànzài xiànlù fánmáng.
Sorry, the line is busy now.
Character Family
Frequently Asked Questions
What does 繁 (fán) mean in Chinese?
How many strokes does 繁 have?
What is the radical of 繁?
What are the components of 繁?
What are common words containing 繁?
What characters sound the same as 繁 (fán)?
Is 繁 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
Practice writing 繁 with real-time feedback
Trace stroke sequences, hear native pronunciation, and build lasting retention with spaced repetition in the HanziFeed app.