How to Write 酚 (fēn) — Meaning “phenol”

Picture a chemical bottle labeled with the 酉 radical (like a laboratory container) and a "division" symbol (分) next to it, reminding you that phenol is a chemical that can be separated from other compounds. Alternatively, think: "The unit (酉) is divided (分) into phenol."

Write the left part 酉 first (7 strokes: horizontal, left vertical, box, then inner horizontal strokes), then the right part 分 (4 strokes: top left-falling, top right-falling, horizontal hook, then left-falling). A common mistake is to make the 分 part too wide or to confuse the order of its strokes—remember the top is two separate strokes (like "八") before the hook.

酚 is 酉 + 分 (phenol, a chemical) and is left-right. 酊 is 酉 + 丁 (tincture, a medicinal alcohol extract) and is also left-right but with a vertical 丁. 酋 is top-bottom with two dots above 酉 (meaning chieftain). Visually, 酚 has the distinct "分" on the right, while 酊 has a simple "丁" and 酋 has a different top structure.

酚 appears mostly in scientific and industrial terms like 苯酚 (běn fēn, phenol) and 酚醛树脂 (fēn quán shù zhī, phenolic resin). It is not used in everyday speech but is common in chemistry textbooks, product labels, or safety data sheets. Phenol is historically important as an antiseptic (carbolic acid) but is now mainly a raw material for plastics and medicines.

Common words containing 酚 include: 苯酚 (běn fēn) — Phenol; 酚类 (fēn lèi) — phenols / phenolic compounds; 酚醛 (fēn quán) — phenolic resin / phenolic aldehyde.