发

Etymology & Components

The Chinese character 发 (fā) is composed of two parts: the radical 髪 (fà), which means "hair," and the phonetic component 纟 (bì), which is a variant of the character 糸 (mì), which means "thread." The original meaning of 发 was "to grow hair," and it was later extended to mean "to grow," "to develop," and "to send forth."The character 发 has a rich history and has been used in Chinese for thousands of years. It is one of the most common characters in the Chinese language, and it is used in a wide variety of words and phrases. For example, it is used in the word 头发 (tóufà), which means "hair," in the word 发芽 (fāyá), which means "to sprout," and in the word 发财 (fācái), which means "to get rich."The character 发 is also used in many Chinese idioms and proverbs. For example, the idiom 一发千钧 (yīfāqiānjūn) means "a single hair can tip the balance of a thousand pounds," and the proverb 失败乃成功之母 (shībài nǎi chénggōng zhī mǔ) means "failure is the mother of success."The character 发 is a powerful and versatile character that has a rich history and a wide range of uses. It is an essential character for HSK learners to master.