奮 means “stir up, rouse”

ふん · fun

Also: stirred up, be invigorated, flourish

Kun'yomi (Japanese reading): ふるう
On'yomi (Chinese reading): フン

JLPT N1 · Taught in grade 6 · 16 strokes

The story

A big (大) bird (隹) over a field (田): the old dictionaries read 奮 as a bird beating its wings to rise from the field. It is energy stirred up: 興奮 is excitement, 奮闘 a hard fight, and 奮発 is splurging, going all out for once.

Used in 興奮 (koufun, excitement), 奮闘 (funtou, hard struggle), and 奮発 (funpatsu, splurging/going all out)

奮 means “stir up, rouse”

The story

More from Joy & Sorrow