How to Write 焚 (fén) — Meaning “to burn”

Picture a forest (林) with fire (火) raging underneath it—imagine the trees catching fire. The mental image of "forest on fire" directly leads to the meaning "to burn." This visual link makes it easy to recall both the form and the definition.

The correct stroke order is: first write the left tree (木), then the right tree (木), and finally the bottom fire radical (火). A common mistake is making the bottom fire too narrow or writing it too far to one side, which makes the character unbalanced. Remember that the fire should sit centered under the two trees.

焚 has a forest (林) above fire (火), meaning "to burn." 烊 (yáng) has the fire radical on the left and a sheep component (羊) on the right, and it means "to melt" or is used in the word 打烊 (closing a shop). 烕 (miè) has fire on the left and a dagger-like component, meaning "to extinguish" or "to destroy." So focus on the top part: 焚 uses two trees, while the others use a single fire radical plus other elements.

焚 appears in formal or literary contexts, such as 焚烧 (fén shāo, to incinerate) and 焚香 (fén xiāng, to burn incense). It is also used in the common idiom 心急如焚 (xīn jí rú fén, meaning "burning with anxiety"). Culturally, the character is associated with historical events like 焚书坑儒 (the burning of books and burying of scholars) under Emperor Qin.

Common words containing 焚 include: 焚烧 (fén shāo) — to incinerate or burn; 焚香 (fén xiāng) — to burn incense; 心急如焚 (xīn jí rú fén) — burning with anxiety.