非

fēi

f+ēi·1st tone

to not be; not

Radical: 非 Strokes: 8 HSK 4

Structure: Single componentFrequency: Most common

Same radical

Same radical

New to Chinese?Start with pinyin·See the learning path

Stroke Order · 8 strokes (click to expand)

Click the button below to start stroke animation

Character Decomposition

Etymology

Two bird's wings opposed; two people back-to-back

Meanings

to not be; not

wrong; incorrect

non-; un-; in-; de-

to reproach; to blame

(coll.) to insist on; simply must

fēi

abbr. for 非洲, Africa

Fēi

Loading examples…

Words with 非 481 total

not only非但fēi dàn (followed by a verb phrase, then – optionally – 不可, or 不行 etc) must非得fēi děi not only · not merely非独fēi dú illegal非法fēi fǎ out of the ordinary · unusually (good, talented etc)非凡fēi fán improper · presumptuous · assuming · overstepping one's bounds非分fēi fèn

Idioms with 非 149 total Chain

to incite a quarrel (idiom); to sow discord between people · to tell tales · to make mischief搬弄是非bān nòng shì fēi three feet of ice does not form in a single day (idiom); Rome wasn't built in a day冰冻三尺，非一日之寒bīng dòng sān chǐ , fēi yī rì zhī hán (idiom) to sidestep the question · to answer evasively答非所问dá fēi suǒ wèn major issues of principle · cardinal issues (or questions) of right and wrong · right and wrong on issues of major importance大是大非dà shì dà fēi (idiom) to distort right and wrong; to deliberately mislead颠倒是非diān dǎo shì fēi

Want to practice speaking with a real teacher? Find a 1-on-1 Chinese tutor on italki (affiliate)