锋 (fēng): sharp, vanguard
锋 (fēng) is a Chinese character meaning “sharp, vanguard.” Classified as HSK Level 7-9 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of 钅 (semantic) and 夆 (phonetic). It ranks #1658 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).
Etymologically derived, 锋 metal. Its radical form 钅 (metal) appears in many related characters such as 钱 (qián, money), 错 (cuò, wrong, mistake), 钟 (zhōng, clock, bell).
Definitions
- sharp, vanguard
Etymology & Origin
Stroke Order
Practice writing 锋 with real-time feedback — trace each stroke in the correct order and build muscle memory in the HanziFeed app.
Words & Compounds
Common Compounds
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 锋利adjective | fēng lì | sharp (e.g. knife blade) |
| 刀锋noun | dāo fēng | cutting edge or point of a knife, sword or tool |
| 前锋noun | qián fēng | vanguard |
| 先锋noun | xiān fēng | vanguard |
| 冲锋枪noun | chōng fēng qiāng | submachine gun |
| 冲锋verb | chōng fēng | to charge (at the enemy) |
| 针锋相对phrase | zhēn fēng xiāng duì | to oppose each other with equal harshness (idiom) |
| 交锋verb | jiāo fēng | to cross swords |
| 中锋noun | zhōng fēng | (sports) midfielder |
| 锋芒noun | fēng máng | tip (of pencil, spear etc) |
| 冲锋陷阵phrase | chōng fēng xiàn zhèn | (idiom) to charge into battle |
| 边锋noun | biān fēng | winger (in soccer or hockey) |
| 先锋队noun | xiān fēng duì | vanguard |
| 锋芒毕露phrase | fēng máng bì lù | to show off one's ability |
| 开路先锋 | kāi lù xiān fēng | pioneer |
锋 appears in 54 compound words: 13 as the first character, 57 as the last, and 30 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 锋 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.
Idioms & Chengyu (8)
first sign of budding talent; to display one's ability for the first time
to fail to show restraint and display one's talent or vigour to the fullest extent
lit. to reach the tip and try (idiom); to have a go when at one's peak
first sign of budding talent; to display one's ability for the first time
to fail to show restraint and display one's talent or vigour to the fullest extent
lit. to reach the tip and try (idiom); to have a go when at one's peak
Showing 6 of 8 idioms containing 锋.
Example Sentences
这把刀很锋利，切菜的时候要注意安全。
Zhè bǎ dāo hěn fēnglì, qiē cài de shíhou yào zhùyì ānquán.
This knife is very sharp; be careful when cutting vegetables.
天气/今狂飙32度热爆!明锋面接力“春雨连发” 冷暖交替温差大
tiān qì jīn kuáng biāo dù rè bào ! míng fēng miàn jiē lì chūn yǔ lián fā lěng nuǎn jiāo tì wēn chā dà
Weather/Today's soaring 32 degrees hot! Mingfeng faced the "spring rain continuously" with a large temperature difference between cold and warmth
明起多波锋面快闪晴雨凉暖交替 吴德荣:228连假降...
míng qǐ duō bō fēng miàn kuài shǎn qíng yǔ liáng nuǎn jiāo tì wú dé róng lián jiǎ jiàng . . .
Tomorrow, multiple waves of frontal flashes, sunny and rainy alternating between cool and warm Wu Derong: 228 consecutive holidays fell...
五特攻队跃领涨先锋 将是大盘上冲34,000点焦点
wǔ tè gōng duì yuè lǐng zhǎng xiān fēng jiāng shì dà pán shàng chōng , diǎn jiāo diǎn
Five Special Forces Lead the Charge, Set to Drive Market Breakthrough at 34,000 Points
明天天气/好天气倒数!一周2波锋面接力 这天雨最猛“连下4天”
míng tiān tiān qì hǎo tiān qì dǎo shǔ ! yī zhōu bō fēng miàn jiē lì zhè tiān yǔ zuì měng lián xià tiān
Tomorrow's Weather/Countdown to Good Weather! Two Cold Fronts in Succession This Week, Heaviest Rain Expected on This Day "Lasting Four Days Straight"
这把刀的刀锋很利。
Zhè bǎ dāo de dāofēng hěn lì.
The knife has a keen blade.
向雷锋同志学习。
Xiàng Léi Fēng tóngzhì xuéxí.
Learn from Comrade Lei Feng.
小心點，它很锋利。
Xiǎoxīn diǎn, tā hěn fēnglì.
Be careful. It's very sharp.
这把菜刀不够锋利，所以我用了我的折叠刀来切肉。
Zhè bǎ càidāo bù gòu fēnglì, suǒyǐ wǒ yòng le wǒ de zhédiédāo lái qiē ròu.
The kitchen knife wasn't sharp enough to cut the meat, so I used my pocket knife.
Character Family
Semantic Family — Characters sharing the 钅 (metal) component
Frequently Asked Questions
What does 锋 (fēng) mean in Chinese?
How many strokes does 锋 have?
What is the radical of 锋?
What are the components of 锋?
What are common words containing 锋?
What characters sound the same as 锋 (fēng)?
Is 锋 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
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