福 meaning and stroke order
Good fortune; happiness; luck
How to write 福, stroke by stroke
13 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 福
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- good fortune
- happiness
- luck
How 福 is built
Phono-semantic (sound + meaning) character. Spirit.
礻 gives the meaning and 畐 hints at the sound.
Radical: 礻 (spirit), shared by 43 characters on this site.
How to remember 福
福 is pictophonetic: the left side 礻 is the spirit radical, and the right side 畐 gives the sound fú. Picture praying to the spirits (礻) and receiving blessings, so good fortune comes from the spirit side.
福 rarely stands alone in speech. It mostly appears in words like 幸福 (xìngfú, happiness), 祝福 (zhùfú, blessings) and 福利 (fúlì, welfare benefits). Example: 祝你们幸福。(Zhù nǐmen xìngfú.) I wish you happiness.
Common mistake: Learners often write the left side as 衤 (the clothing radical, with an extra dot) instead of 礻, which would make a different character, 褔. Also do not confuse 福 with 副 (fù, deputy), which shares 畐 but has the knife radical on the right and a fourth tone.
Common words with 福
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| 幸福 | xìngfú | happiness; happy | HSK 3 |
| 祝福 | zhùfú | blessings; to wish sb well | HSK 4 |
| 福利 | fúlì | benefit (provided by an employer or organization); (social) welfare | HSK 5 |
| 福气 | fúqi | good fortune; a blessing | HSK 7-9 |
| 造福 | zàofú | to benefit (e.g. the people) | HSK 7-9 |
| 福音 | fúyīn | good news; glad tidings | |
| 大福 | dàfú | a great blessing; daifuku, a traditional Japanese sweet consisting of a soft, chewy outer | |
| 来福枪 | láifúqiāng | rifle (loanword); also written 來復槍|来复枪 | |
| 赐福 | cìfú | to bless | |
| 福林 | fúlín | forint (Hungarian currency) (loanword) | |
| 祈福 | qífú | to pray for blessings | |
| 全家福 | quánjiāfú | photograph of the entire family; hodgepodge (cookery) | |
| 福祉 | fúzhǐ | well-being; welfare | |
| 福利院 | fúlìyuàn | welfare agency |
福 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Questions about 福
How many strokes are in 福?
福 is written with 13 strokes. The diagrams on this page number every stroke in the order it is written, with the new stroke shown in red.
What does 福 mean?
福 (fú) means good fortune; happiness; luck. A common word with it is 幸福 (xìngfú), meaning "happiness; happy".
How do you pronounce 福?
福 is pronounced fú, in the second tone (rising).
What is the radical of 福?
The radical of 福 is 礻, which carries the idea of "spirit". Dictionaries list 福 under this radical.
Is 福 on the HSK exam?
Yes. 福 is part of the HSK 3 character list in the HSK 3.0 standard, and you are expected to write it by hand from HSK 3.
Why do people hang 福 upside down at Chinese New Year?
Hanging 福 upside down is a pun. "Upside down" is 倒 (dào), which sounds like 到 (dào, to arrive), so 福倒了 suggests 福到了 (fú dào le), meaning good fortune has arrived.
What is the difference between 幸福 and 福气?
幸福 (xìngfú) describes a feeling or state of happiness, as in 很幸福 (very happy). 福气 (fúqi) means good luck or blessedness you are seen to have, as in 你真有福气 (Nǐ zhēn yǒu fúqi, You are really lucky).