放 (fàng): to put, to release
放 (fàng) is a Chinese character meaning “to put, to release.” Classified as HSK Level 3 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of 方 (phonetic) and 攵 (semantic). It ranks #291 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).
Etymologically derived, 放 let go. Its radical form 攵 (rap) appears in many related characters such as 教 (jiào, (bound form) to teach), 收 (shōu, to receive), 改 (gǎi, to change).
Definitions
- to put, to release
Etymology & Origin
Stroke Order
Practice writing 放 with real-time feedback — trace each stroke in the correct order and build muscle memory in the HanziFeed app.
Words & Compounds
HSK Vocabulary with 放
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | HSK |
|---|---|---|---|
| 放弃verb | fàng qì | to renounce | 4 |
| 放松verb | fàng sōng | to relax | 4 |
| 释放verb | shì fàng | to release (a prisoner) | 6 |
| 放心verb | fàng xīn | to feel relieved | 3 |
| 播放verb | bō fàng | to broadcast | 4 |
| 放学verb | fàng xué | to dismiss students at the end of the school day | 3 |
| 开放verb/adjective | kāi fàng | to bloom | 5 |
| 解放verb | jiě fàng | to liberate | 6 |
| 放大verb | fàng dà | to enlarge | 6 |
| 放假verb | fàng jià | to have a holiday or vacation | 3 |
| 存放verb | cún fàng | to deposit | 5 |
| 发放verb | fā fàng | to provide | 6 |
| 摆放verb | bǎi fàng | to set up | 6 |
| 排放verb | pái fàng | to arrange in order | 6 |
| 放飞verb | fàng fēi | to allow to fly | 6 |
Common Compounds
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 放下verb | fàng xià | to lay down |
| 放开verb | fàng kāi | to let go |
| 放手verb | fàng shǒu | to let go one's hold |
| 放屁verb | fàng pì | to fart |
| 流放verb | liú fàng | to exile |
| 放过verb | fàng guò | to let off |
| 放逐verb | fàng zhú | to banish |
| 放出verb | fàng chū | to let off |
| 放纵verb | fàng zòng | to indulge |
| 放射verb | fàng shè | to radiate |
| 放火verb | fàng huǒ | to set on fire |
| 放射性adjective | fàng shè xìng | radioactive |
| 放荡adjective | fàng dàng | licentious |
| 放置verb | fàng zhì | to put |
| 放任verb | fàng rèn | to ignore |
放 appears in 106 compound words: 70 as the first character, 30 as the last, and 0 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 放 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.
Idioms & Chengyu (26)
many different sorts of flowers bloom simultaneously; a variety of different artistic styles flourish at the same time
to fire after the horse has bolted (idiom); to act too late to be effective
to get off one's high horse; to dispense with posturing (and adopt a more humble or empathetic attitude)
to get off one's high horse; to dispense with posturing (and adopt a more humble or empathetic attitude)
Showing 12 of 26 idioms containing 放.
Example Sentences
请把文件放在桌子上，我稍后会处理。
Qǐng bǎ wénjiàn fàng zài zhuōzi shang, wǒ shāohòu huì chǔlǐ.
Please put the documents on the desk; I'll handle them later.
被抓现行!菲律宾海警在南海投放不明物体
bèi zhuā xiàn háng ! 菲 lǜ bīn hǎi jǐng zài nán hǎi tóu fàng bù míng wù tī
Caught in the act! Philippine Maritime Police Drop Unidentified Objects in South China Sea
宁远县城管局:禁燃禁放不松懈 守护平安祥和年
nìng yuǎn xiàn chéng guǎn jú jīn rán jīn fàng bù sōng xiè shǒu hù píng ān xiáng hé nián
Ningyuan County Urban Management Bureau: ban on burning and discharge of no slack guarding the peace and tranquility of the year
谱写春日序曲!明城墙遗址公园梅花绽放
pǔ xiě chūn rì xù qū ! míng chéng qiáng yí zhǐ gōng yuán méi huā zhàn fàng
Composing the Prelude to Spring! Plum Blossoms Bloom at Ming City Wall Ruins Park
菲律宾海警在南海投放不明物体
菲 lǜ bīn hǎi jǐng zài nán hǎi tóu fàng bù míng wù tī
Philippine Coast Guard deploys unidentified objects in the South China Sea
马年首日上海科技馆试开放 互动展项人气最旺
mǎ nián shǒu rì shǎng hǎi kē jì guǎn shì kāi fàng hù dòng zhǎn xiàng rén qì zuì wàng
Shanghai Science and Technology Museum Opens for Trial Run on First Day of Year of the Horse Interactive Exhibits Draw Largest Crowds
你想好放假去哪里玩了没有？
Nǐ xiǎng hǎo fàngjià qù nǎlǐ wán le méiyǒu?
Have you made up your mind where to go for the holidays?
你放假打算去什么地方玩呢？
Nǐ fàngjià dǎsuàn qù shénme dìfang wán ne?
Where are you going to go on your vacation?
你放学以后干什么？
Nǐ fàngxué yǐhòu gànshénme?
What do you do after school?
您能帮我拨号吗？电话机放得太高了。
Nín néng bāng wǒ bōhào ma? diànhuàjī fàng de tài gāo le.
Can you help me dial? The telephone is put too high.
Character Family
Semantic Family — Characters sharing the 攵 (let go) component
Frequently Asked Questions
What does 放 (fàng) mean in Chinese?
What's the difference between 放 and 旁?
How many strokes does 放 have?
What is the radical of 放?
What are the components of 放?
What are common words containing 放?
What characters sound the same as 放 (fàng)?
Is 放 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
Practice writing 放 with real-time feedback
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