佛 meaning and stroke order
Buddha; Buddhism (abbr. for 佛陀[Fo2 tuo2])
How to write 佛, stroke by stroke
7 strokes in order. Each box adds the next stroke in red. Write top to bottom and left to right, and finish enclosing strokes last.
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Meaning of 佛
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- used in 仿佛[fang3 fu2]
- used in 彷彿|仿佛[fang3 fu2]
- (female) head ornament
- variant of 彿|佛[fu2]
How 佛 is built
Phono-semantic (sound + meaning) character. Person.
亻 gives the meaning and 弗 hints at the sound.
Radical: 亻 (man), shared by 277 characters on this site.
How to remember 佛
佛 is a person 亻 next to 弗 (fú), which gives the sound. Picture a person sitting calmly beside a sign that sounds like "fú", and you have the Buddha, 佛 (fó).
Most of the time 佛 is read fó and refers to the Buddha or Buddhism, as in 佛教 (Fójiào) and 佛像 (fóxiàng). It is read fú mainly in the word 仿佛 (fǎngfú), meaning "as if". Example: 他仿佛没听见。(Tā fǎngfú méi tīngjiàn.) He seemed not to hear.
Common mistake: Learners often say fó in 仿佛, but there it is fǎngfú. Also do not confuse 佛 with 拂 (fú, to brush), which has the hand radical 扌 instead of the person radical 亻.
Common words with 佛
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
佛 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Questions about 佛
How many strokes are in 佛?
佛 is written with 7 strokes. The diagrams on this page number every stroke in the order it is written, with the new stroke shown in red.
What does 佛 mean?
佛 (fó) means Buddha; Buddhism (abbr. for 佛陀[Fo2 tuo2]). A common word with it is 仿佛 (fǎngfú), meaning "to seem; as if; seemingly; alike; similar".
How do you pronounce 佛?
佛 has more than one reading: fó and fú. The most common is fó, said in the second tone (rising).
What is the radical of 佛?
The radical of 佛 is 亻, which carries the idea of "man". Dictionaries list 佛 under this radical.
What is the traditional form of 佛?
The traditional form of 佛 is 彿 and 髴. Traditional characters are used in Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau; 佛 is the simplified form used in mainland China and Singapore.
Is 佛 on the HSK exam?
Yes. 佛 is part of the HSK 6 character list in the HSK 3.0 standard, and you are expected to write it by hand from HSK 3.
How do you say Buddha in Chinese?
You can say 佛 (fó) or 佛陀 (Fótuó). For the historical Buddha, people also say 释迦牟尼 (Shìjiāmóuní).
Does 佛 appear in place names or everyday phrases?
Yes. The city 佛山 (Fóshān) in Guangdong uses it, and 佛系 (fóxì) is a popular slang word meaning laid-back or not trying too hard.