TraceHanzi

腹 meaning and stroke order

fù

Stomach, belly, abdomen; inside

HSK 7-913 strokesRadical ⺼
Strokes13
Pinyinfù
ToneTone 4
Frequency#2,329
Printable worksheetPractice all HSK 7-9 characters

How to write 腹, 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.

  1. 1
  2. 2
  3. 3
  4. 4
  5. 5
  6. 6
  7. 7
  8. 8
  9. 9
  10. 10
  11. 11
  12. 12
  13. 13

Meaning of 腹

Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.

fùfourth tone (falling)
  1. abdomen
  2. stomach
  3. belly

How 腹 is built

Phono-semantic (sound + meaning) character. Flesh.

component+fùagain

⺼ gives the meaning and 复 hints at the sound.

Radical: ⺼ (meat), shared by 176 characters on this site.

How to remember 腹

The left part ⺼ means flesh or body, and the right part 复 (fù) gives the sound. Picture the fleshy part of your body that says fù: your belly.

腹 (fù) is formal or medical. In daily speech people say 肚子 (dùzi) for belly, but 腹 appears in words like 腹部 (fùbù) abdomen, 腹泻 (fùxiè) diarrhea and 腹肌 (fùjī) abs. Example: 他腹部有点疼。(Tā fùbù yǒudiǎn téng.) He has some pain in his abdomen.

Common mistake: Learners often mix up 腹 (fù) with 复 (fù) and 覆 (fù), which share the same sound and right side. Only 腹 has the flesh radical ⺼, so use it only for body meanings.

Common words with 腹

Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.

WordPinyinMeaningLevel
腹部fùbùabdomen; bellyHSK 7-9
腹泻fùxièdiarrhea; to have the runsHSK 7-9
切腹qiēfùharakiri (formal Japanese: seppuku), a samurai's suicide by disemboweling
腹肌fùjīabdominal muscle
剖腹产pōufùchǎncesarean birth
剖腹pōufùto cut open the abdomen; to disembowel

腹 in example sentences

Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.

现xiàn在zài仍réng然rán有yǒu女nǚ生shēng喜xǐ欢huān穿chuān束shù腹fù。
Currently there are still women who like to wear corsets.
你nǐ尤yóu其qí不bù该gāi空kōng腹fù喝hē酒jiǔ。
You should especially not drink on an empty stomach.
乔qiáo治zhì击jī中zhòng了le他tā的de腹fù部bù。
George hit him in the stomach.
这zhè块kuài龟guī腹fù甲jiǎ的de甲jiǎ桥qiáo上shàng有yǒu三sān个gè字zì的de刻kè辞cí。
There are three words engraved on the bridge of the plastron of this turtle.
我wǒ要yào你nǐ切qiè腹fù。
I want you to commit seppuku.

Questions about 腹

How many strokes are in 腹?

腹 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 腹 mean?

腹 (fù) means stomach, belly, abdomen; inside. A common word with it is 腹部 (fùbù), meaning "abdomen; belly".

How do you pronounce 腹?

腹 is pronounced fù, in the fourth tone (falling).

What is the radical of 腹?

The radical of 腹 is ⺼, which carries the idea of "meat". Dictionaries list 腹 under this radical.

Is 腹 on the HSK exam?

Yes. 腹 is part of the HSK 7-9 character list in the HSK 3.0 standard.

What is the difference between 腹 and 肚子?

Both refer to the belly. 肚子 (dùzi) is the normal spoken word, while 腹 (fù) sounds formal and is used in medical terms, writing and fixed words like 腹部.

Can 腹 mean something other than the stomach?

Yes, it can mean the inside or central part of something. A common example is 腹地 (fùdì), meaning hinterland or interior region.

Keep going

诈Previous in HSK 7-9zhà