泛 fàn — broad; vast; float; pan-; float; general
微风吹过，湖面泛起一圈圈波纹。Wēi fēng chuī guò, hú miàn fàn qǐ yì quān quān bō wén.A breeze blew, and ripples spread across the lake.
Common words: 广泛 (guǎng fàn)、泛滥 (fàn làn)、宽泛 (kuān fàn)
Meaning Index
Chinese characters meaning "vast"
Learn Chinese characters with the meaning "vast", including 泛 (fàn), 浩 (hào), 茫 (máng). Study pinyin, English meanings, traditional forms, common words…
How to Study This Meaning Group
The English word "vast" covers 3 different Chinese characters — 泛 (fàn), 浩 (hào), 茫 (máng) — and each is its own word with its own feel. These 3 characters do not share a sound — their readings span fàn, hào, máng — so confirm the pinyin and tone for each one separately. The example sentences further down show how 泛 and the others are actually used, so you learn them in context rather than as a single translation.
- 泛 fànbroad; vast; float; pan-; float; generalUseful words: 广泛, 泛滥
- 浩 hàogrand; vast (water)Useful words: 浩劫, 浩大
- 茫 mángvague; vastUseful words: 茫茫, 茫然
Common words for these 3 "vast" characters
Anchor each of these 3 characters in a word you can picture — start with 泛 (fàn) — so "vast" turns into concrete usage instead of a one-to-one translation.
广泛guǎng fànwide; broad; extensive; widespread泛滥fàn lànto overflow; to inundate; to flood; (fig.) to proliferate unchecked宽泛kuān fànwide-ranging浩劫hào jiécalamity; catastrophe; apocalypse浩大hào dàvast; huge浩然hào ránvast; expansive; overwhelming茫茫máng mángboundless; vast and obscure茫然máng ránblankly; vacantly; at a loss微茫wēi mánghazy; blurred
See each character in a sentence
Each character below is shown in a short example sentence with pinyin and an English translation — the quickest way to feel the difference between the 3 ways to say "vast".
浩 hào — grand; vast (water)
大海浩瀚无边，望不到尽头。Dà hǎi hào hàn wú biān, wàng bu dào jìn tóu.The sea is vast and boundless, stretching beyond sight.
Common words: 浩劫 (hào jié)、浩大 (hào dà)、浩然 (hào rán)
茫 máng — vague; vast
大雾弥漫，四周白茫茫的一片。Dà wù mí màn, sì zhōu bái máng máng de yí piàn.The fog spread, and everything around was a vast expanse of white.
Common words: 茫茫 (máng máng)、茫然 (máng rán)、微茫 (wēi máng)
All 3 characters
Open 泛、浩、茫 or any character below to hear it read aloud and see it used in an example sentence.