How to Write 疯 (fēng) — Meaning “mad”

Imagine a mad person running wildly in the wind, which is the inner part 风 (wind). The outer radical 疒 looks like a hospital bed, so picture a wind-affected patient acting crazy in the hospital. This visual links the illness radical with the wind to mean "mad."

The radical 疒 has a specific stroke order: dot, horizontal, left-falling stroke, then two dots inside, ending with the final left-falling stroke. The inner 风 must be centered and not too wide; avoid making the hook in 风 too large. Also, ensure the third stroke (left-falling) of 疒 extends downward enough to cover the inner part.

疯 means "mad" or "crazy" and refers to mental illness, while 疔 (dīng) means a deep boil or furuncle, and 疖 (jiē) means a small boil or pimple. Visually, 疯 has the inner part 风, whereas 疔 has 丁 (nail) and 疖 has 节 (joint). All share the disease radical 疒 but have completely different meanings.

疯 appears in words like 疯了 (gone mad), 疯狂 (crazy, frantic), and 疯子 (madman). It can describe literal mental illness or figurative extreme behavior, such as "赚钱赚疯了" (madly making money). Note that calling someone 疯子 is strong and often insulting, so use it carefully.

Common words containing 疯 include: 疯了 (fēng le) — gone mad; 疯狂 (fēng kuáng) — crazy; 疯子 (fēng zi) — madman.