Meaning of 部
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- ministry
- department
- section
- part
- division
- troops
- board
- classifier for works of literature, films, machines etc
How to use 部
部 (bù) appears in words for parts and departments, such as 部分 (bùfen) and 部门 (bùmén), and it is also a measure word for films, books, and some machines. Example: 我看了一部电影。(Wǒ kàn le yí bù diànyǐng.) I watched a movie.
The right side of 部 is the 阝 shape that stands for a city or town, and a city is divided into parts and departments. Think of 部 (bù) as one section of a larger whole, like one office in a big government.
Common mistake: Learners often mix up 部 (bù) with 陪 (péi, to accompany), which looks similar but has 阝 on the left instead of the right. Also remember that 一 changes to yí before 部 because 部 is fourth tone, so say yí bù.
部 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.
部 bù · ministry · 10 strokes
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Related words
Words that share a character with 部.
| 全部 | quánbù | whole; all |
| 部分 | bùfen | part; portion; piece; Taiwan pr. [bu4fen4] |
| 一部分 | yī bùfen | portion; part of |
| 大部分 | dàbùfen | the greater part; the majority; most; Taiwan pr. [da4bu4fen4] |
| 部门 | bùmén | department; branch |
| 部长 | bùzhǎng | head of a (government etc) department; section chief |
| 西部 | xībù | western part |
| 南部 | nánbù | southern part |
| 北部 | běibù | northern part |
| 东部 | dōngbù | the east; eastern part |
| 中部 | zhōngbù | middle part; central section; central region |
| 内部 | nèibù | interior; inside (part, section) |
Questions about 部
What does 部 mean?
部 (bù) means "ministry; department" and is used as a noun and measure word.
How do you write 部?
部 is made of 1 character: 部 (10 strokes). That is 10 strokes in total.
Is 部 an HSK word?
Yes. 部 is on the HSK 3 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
What is the difference between 部分 and 全部?
部分 (bùfen) means a part or some of something, while 全部 (quánbù) means all of it. For example, 部分学生 is some students and 全部学生 is all the students.
Can I use 部 for a phone?
Yes, 部 can count phones, as in 一部手机 (yí bù shǒujī), though 个 (gè) and 台 (tái) are also common in everyday speech. For movies, 部 is the most natural choice.