发 fā — issue, send, hair · English

发

fā

issue, send, hair

At a glance · 发

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Evolution of the glyph

Five stages, from a sketch of the real object to regular script — tap a stage, drag the timeline, or play the animation.

Object sketchBefore writing · drawing what was seen
Oracle boneShang dynasty · c. 1300–1046 BCE
Seal scriptQin dynasty · 221–206 BCE
Clerical scriptHan dynasty · 206 BCE–220 CE
Regular scriptWei–Jin to Tang · c. 3rd–9th century CE

Object sketchBefore writing · drawing what was seenOracle boneShang dynasty · c. 1300–1046 BCESeal scriptQin dynasty · 221–206 BCEClerical scriptHan dynasty · 206 BCE–220 CERegular scriptWei–Jin to Tang · c. 3rd–9th century CE

⚠ Some ancient forms are not attested：oracle bone form、seal script form。No excavated oracle bone / seal artifact is attested for this character yet; we leave it blank rather than fabricate.

发字小篆从癶犮声，为形声字；本义为发射、派出，亦指头发（髮）。甲骨文未见。

What the sketch shows

Origins & notes

发本义为发射、出发，引申为发生；头发另作髮。

Structure

形声字，上部『癶』为意符表足动，下部『犮』为声符。

At a glance

Pinyinfā

Radical又

Strokes5

UnicodeU+53D1

Character type形声

Theme动作

Six languages, one character

Each page offers hreflang versions; switching language keeps the glyphs and meanings aligned.

English issue, send, hair Fa is a phonetic-semantic character meaning to send out and issue; hair is a separate character.

Français émettre, envoyer Fa est un caractère phonético-sémantique signifiant émettre et envoyer; cheveux est un autre caractère.

Español enviar, emitir Fa es un carácter fonosemántico que significa enviar y emitir; cabello es otro carácter.

العربية يُصدر، يرسل فا حرف صوتي دلالي يعني الإرسال والإصدار؛ والشعر حرف آخر.

Русский отправлять, посылать Фа — фоносемантический знак, означающий посылать и издавать; волосы — отдельный знак.

Common words

头发tóu fahair
发展fā zhǎndevelop

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