How to Write 钒 (fán) — Meaning “Vanadium”

Think of a metal fan: 钅 (metal) plus 凡, which sounds like "fan." Imagine a fan made of vanadium steel. Or remember that vanadium is a common (凡) metal used in alloys.

Write the left radical 钅 first with 5 strokes: 撇, 横, 横, 横, 竖提. Then add 凡: 撇, 横折弯钩, 点 — the hook must curve smoothly, and the dot goes inside the hook, not outside. Common mistake: making the 凡 part too wide or forgetting the dot.

All three are metal elements with 钅. 钒 has 凡 on the right, which includes a small dot inside the hook. 钆 (gá) has only a hook shape (乚) with no dot. 钇 (yǐ) has 乙, which looks like a Z-shaped stroke. Remember: 凡 has a dot, 乚 has no dot, 乙 is curvy.

钒 is used mainly in scientific and industrial contexts, such as 钒钢 (vanadium steel) and 钒元素 (vanadium element). It is not common in daily conversation but appears in chemistry textbooks or news about alloys. Vanadium is named after the Norse goddess Vanadis, but the Chinese name 钒 is purely phonetic.

Common words containing 钒 include: 钒钢 (fán gāng) — Vanadium steel; 钒元素 (fán yuán sù) — Vanadium element; 含有钒 (hán yǒu fán) — contains vanadium.