甫 meaning and stroke order
To begin; man, father; great; a distance of ten li
How to write 甫, 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.
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
- 7
Meaning of 甫
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- (classical) barely
- just
- just now
How 甫 is built
Components of the character.
Radical: 用 (to use), shared by 7 characters on this site.
How to remember 甫
Picture 十 (shí, ten) laid over 用 (yòng, to use): ten tools just put to use, a job that has only just begun. That links the shape to the core idea of 甫 (fǔ), beginning or just now.
In modern Chinese 甫 mostly appears in formal or written styles meaning "just" or "barely," and in names, like the poet 杜甫 (Dù Fǔ). Example: 他甫到北京就病了。(Tā fǔ dào Běijīng jiù bìng le.) He had just arrived in Beijing when he fell ill.
Common mistake: Learners often confuse 甫 with 用 (yòng) or 角 and forget the dot at the top right; 甫 has that small dot, and its vertical stroke pokes through the top. It is also easy to misread it as pǔ because of 浦 (pǔ) and 捕 (bǔ), but 甫 itself is fǔ in the third tone.
Characters that contain 甫
Learning 甫 makes these easier to recognize and write.
Questions about 甫
How many strokes are in 甫?
甫 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 甫 mean?
甫 (fǔ) means to begin; man, father; great; a distance of ten li.
How do you pronounce 甫?
甫 is pronounced fǔ, in the third tone (dipping).
What is the radical of 甫?
The radical of 甫 is 用, which carries the idea of "to use". Dictionaries list 甫 under this radical.
Can I use 甫 instead of 刚 in everyday speech?
Not really. 甫 sounds literary and is used in writing, news headlines or formal speech. In conversation, say 刚 (gāng) or 刚刚 (gānggāng).
Why does 甫 show up inside so many other characters?
甫 often serves as a sound component, giving a similar sound to characters such as 辅 (fǔ, to assist), 捕 (bǔ, to catch) and 铺 (pū, to spread). Recognizing it helps you guess the pronunciation of those characters.