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noun / adjective HSK 4
fěn
powder · noodles · pink · fan (supporter)

Meaning

粉 is a versatile character meaning powder or something ground fine. It extends to rice noodles (米粉), makeup powder, and the color pink (粉红). In modern internet slang, it also means 'fan' (short for 粉丝), a supporter or enthusiast of someone.

Usage

As a noun, 粉 commonly appears in compounds like 面粉 (flour), 粉丝 (vermicelli noodles or fans), and 奶粉 (milk powder). As an adjective, it describes the color pink, often in 粉红 or 粉色. In casual internet language, young people say 我是他的粉 meaning 'I'm his fan.'

Examples

  1. 01
    她今天穿了一件粉色的裙子。
    Tā jīntiān chuān le yī jiàn fěn sè de qúnzi.
    She wore a pink skirt today.
  2. 02
    我是这个歌手的粉，听了他所有的专辑。
    Wǒ shì zhège gēshǒu de fěn, tīng le tā suǒyǒu de zhuānjí.
    I'm a fan of this singer and have listened to all his albums.

Common collocations

  • 粉色
    fěn sè
    pink color
  • 米粉
    mǐ fěn
    rice noodles
  • 化妆粉
    huà zhuāng fěn
    makeup powder
  • 粉末
    fěn mò
    fine powder

Origin

The character 粉 combines 米 (rice) and 分 (to divide/separate), originally referring to rice flour or finely ground grain. The meaning extended to any powder, then to pink color (like powder makeup), and eventually to 'fan' as a loanword abbreviation.

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