烦

煩

fán

火 + 页

HSK 3.0Level 4

Definitions

fán (verb) to feel troubled; to be annoyed; to be vexed

fán (adjective) troublesome; bothersome

fán (verb) to bother; to trouble

Etymology

Depicts fire (火) in the head (页), i.e. a headache. Simplified form of 煩.

Semantic: 火 Phonetic: 页

About

The character 烦 combines the fire component 火 on the left and the head component 页 on the right (traditional form 煩 uses 頁), originally depicting fire in the head, i.e., a headache. Its earliest meaning was a headache or a feverish heat in the head, directly reflecting these components. Over time, the sense shifted from physical ailment to a psychological state of annoyance or vexation. Today, it functions primarily as an adjective or verb meaning bothered or to bother someone, without its former medical connotations.

Etymology Hide

Seal Shuowen (~100 AD)

Clerical Qin dynasty (221-206 BC)

Clerical Eastern Han dynasty (25-220 AD)

Traditional Modern

Simplified Modern

Example Sentences Hide

请你别来烦我。

Qǐng nǐ bié lái fán wǒ。

Please don't come and bother me。

他很烦人。

Tā hěn fán rén。

He is very annoying。

这工作很烦琐。

Zhè gōngzuò hěn fánsuǒ。

This work is very tedious and complicated。

我烦请你帮个忙。

Wǒ fán qǐng nǐ bāng gè máng。

I would trouble you to do me a favor。

最近有很多烦心事。

Zuìjìn yǒu hěnduō fánxīn shì。

There have been a lot of bothersome things recently。

解决这个烦人的问题花了很长时间。

Jiějué zhège fánrén de wèntí huāle hěn cháng shíjiān。

Solving this annoying problem took a long time。

他总为一些琐事烦心。

Tā zǒng wèi yīxiē suǒshì fánxīn。

He is always worried and annoyed by trivial matters。

别让过去的烦恼影响现在的你。

Bié ràng guòqù de fánnǎo yǐngxiǎng xiànzài de nǐ。

Don't let past troubles affect the present you。

Related Characters

Component: 火

Component: 页

烦