Meaning of 扑
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- to throw oneself at
- to pounce on
- to devote one's energies
- to flap
- to flutter
- to dab
- to pat
- to bend over
How to use 扑
扑 describes a sudden forward rush of the body, like pouncing, diving, or throwing yourself at someone. It also appears in common words like 扑克 (pūkè, playing cards) and 扑灭 (pūmiè, to put out a fire). Example: 小狗扑到我身上。(Xiǎo gǒu pū dào wǒ shēn shang.) The puppy jumped on me.
扑 combines the hand radical 扌 with 卜 (bǔ), which also hints at the sound. Picture a hand lunging forward to grab something, the way a cat pounces with its paw.
Common mistake: Learners often confuse 扑 (pū) with 朴 (pǔ, plain, simple), which has the tree radical 木 instead of the hand 扌. The tones differ too, so 扑 is first tone, not third.
扑 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Stroke order for each character
Open a character for its meaning, components and more words.
扑 pū · to throw oneself at · 5 strokes
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
Related words
Words that share a character with 扑.
| 扑克 | pūkè | poker (game) (loanword); playing cards |
| 红扑扑 | hóngpūpū | red; rosy |
| 扑面而来 | pūmiàn-érlái | lit. sth hits one in the face; directly in one's face |
| 扑克牌 | pūkèpái | poker (card game); playing card |
| 扑灭 | pūmiè | to eradicate; to extinguish |
| 扑通 | pūtōng | (onom.) sound of object falling into water; plop |
| 相扑 | xiāngpū | sumo wrestling; also pr. [xiang4 pu1] |
Questions about 扑
What does 扑 mean?
扑 (pū) means "to throw oneself at; to pounce on" and is used as a verb.
How do you write 扑?
扑 is made of 1 character: 扑 (5 strokes). That is 5 strokes in total.
Is 扑 an HSK word?
Yes. 扑 is on the HSK 6 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
How is 扑 written in traditional Chinese?
In traditional characters, 扑 is written 撲.
What does 扑空 mean?
扑空 (pūkōng) means to pounce and catch nothing, so it is used for making a trip or effort and coming away empty-handed. For example, 我去找他，结果扑空了 means I went to find him but he was not there.
How is 扑 used to describe smells or wind?
扑 can describe something rushing at your face, such as a smell or a gust of wind. You will hear 香味扑鼻 (xiāngwèi pūbí), a fragrance hits the nose, and 扑面而来 for something coming straight at you.