府 meaning and stroke order
Prefect; prefecture, government
How to write 府, stroke by stroke
8 strokes in order. Each box adds the next stroke in red. Write top to bottom and left to right, and finish enclosing strokes last.
- 1
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- 8
Meaning of 府
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- seat of government
- government repository (archive)
- official residence
- mansion
- presidential palace
- (honorific) Your home
How 府 is built
Phono-semantic (sound + meaning) character. Wide.
广 gives the meaning and 付 hints at the sound.
Radical: 广 (broad), shared by 60 characters on this site.
How to remember 府
府 is a building roof 广 (guǎng, wide shelter) over 付 (fù), which gives the sound. Picture a wide hall where people come to pay 付 their taxes: that is the government office, 府.
Today 府 mostly appears inside words like 政府 (zhèngfǔ, government) and 市政府 (shìzhèngfǔ, city government). It also shows up in polite speech for someone else's home. Example: 市政府在哪儿？(Shìzhèngfǔ zài nǎr?) Where is the city government office?
Common mistake: Learners often mix up 府 (fǔ) with 腐 (fǔ, rotten), which has 肉 under it, and with 付 (fù, to pay), which has no roof and a fourth tone. Remember 府 is third tone, not the fourth tone of its phonetic part 付.
Common words with 府
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| 政府 | zhèngfǔ | government | HSK 4 |
| 首府 | shǒufǔ | capital city of an autonomous region | HSK 7-9 |
| 联邦政府 | liánbāngzhèngfǔ | federal government | |
| 市政府 | shìzhèngfǔ | city hall; city government | |
| 府上 | fǔshàng | (courteous) home; residence (not one's own) | |
| 幕府 | mùfǔ | (orig.) tents forming the offices of a commanding officer; administration of a military go | |
| 官府 | guānfǔ | authorities; feudal official | |
| 打道回府 | dǎdàohuífǔ | to go home (in a ceremonial procession); to return home | |
| 府邸 | fǔdǐ | mansion house; official residence |
府 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Characters that contain 府
Learning 府 makes these easier to recognize and write.
Questions about 府
How many strokes are in 府?
府 is written with 8 strokes. The diagrams on this page number every stroke in the order it is written, with the new stroke shown in red.
What does 府 mean?
府 (fǔ) means prefect; prefecture, government. A common word with it is 政府 (zhèngfǔ), meaning "government".
How do you pronounce 府?
府 is pronounced fǔ, in the third tone (dipping).
What is the radical of 府?
The radical of 府 is 广, which carries the idea of "broad". Dictionaries list 府 under this radical.
Is 府 on the HSK exam?
Yes. 府 is part of the HSK 4 character list in the HSK 3.0 standard, and you are expected to write it by hand from HSK 3.
How do I politely ask where someone lives using 府?
You can say 您府上在哪儿？(Nín fǔshàng zài nǎr?) It is a courteous way to refer to another person's home. Never use 府上 for your own home.
What does 打道回府 mean in everyday speech?
It originally described an official returning home in a procession. Now people use it humorously to mean simply going home, as in 累了，打道回府吧 (Lèi le, dǎdào huífǔ ba) We are tired, let's head home.