哺 meaning and stroke order
To chew; to feed
How to write 哺, stroke by stroke
10 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 哺
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- to feed
- to eat
- evening meal
How 哺 is built
Phono-semantic (sound + meaning) character. Mouth.
口 gives the meaning and 甫 hints at the sound.
Radical: 口 (mouth), shared by 428 characters on this site.
How to remember 哺
The mouth 口 on the left tells you this is about eating, and 甫 (fǔ) on the right gives the sound bǔ. Picture a mouth taking food and passing it on to feed a little one.
哺 (bǔ) is mostly found in set words rather than on its own. The two you will see most are 哺育 (bǔyù) "to feed, to nurture" and 哺乳 (bǔrǔ) "to breastfeed." Example: 鲸鱼是哺乳动物。(Jīngyú shì bǔrǔ dòngwù.) Whales are mammals.
Common mistake: Learners often read 哺 as fǔ or pǔ because of 甫 and similar characters like 捕 (bǔ, to catch) and 浦 (pǔ). 哺 with 口 is about feeding, and 捕 with the hand radical 扌 is about catching, as in 捕鱼 (bǔyú).
Common words with 哺
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
哺 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Questions about 哺
How many strokes are in 哺?
哺 is written with 10 strokes. The diagrams on this page number every stroke in the order it is written, with the new stroke shown in red.
What does 哺 mean?
哺 (bǔ) means to chew; to feed. A common word with it is 哺育 (bǔyù), meaning "to feed; (fig.) to nurture; to foster".
How do you pronounce 哺?
哺 is pronounced bǔ, in the third tone (dipping).
What is the radical of 哺?
The radical of 哺 is 口, which carries the idea of "mouth". Dictionaries list 哺 under this radical.
What is the traditional form of 哺?
The traditional form of 哺 is 餔. Traditional characters are used in Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau; 哺 is the simplified form used in mainland China and Singapore.
Is 哺 on the HSK exam?
Yes. 哺 is part of the HSK 7-9 character list in the HSK 3.0 standard.
What does 哺乳 mean and how is it used?
哺乳 (bǔrǔ) means to nurse or breastfeed, literally "feed milk." It appears in 哺乳期 (bǔrǔqī), the breastfeeding period, and in 哺乳动物 (bǔrǔ dòngwù), mammal.
Can 哺育 be used for things other than feeding babies?
Yes. 哺育 (bǔyù) is often used figuratively to mean nurturing or raising, as in saying a river 哺育了 a civilization. It sounds formal and is common in writing and speeches.