Writing Balance Rule: The left component (亻) should be narrower and slightly elevated, while the right component (犬) occupies the main structural weight on the right side.
1. Meaning
to lean over or lie prostrate
to hide in ambushto submit or concede defeatthe hottest days of summer (Sanfu)
Tone mark placement: Tone mark sits on "u" per main-vowel priority (a > e > o; in -iu/-ui the mark takes the second vowel).
Initial Consonant
f
Type: Labiodental Fricative
Sounds like: f sound as in 'four'
Unaspirated
Airflow Tactile Test: Continuous smooth friction.
Tongue & Mouth Position: Upper teeth touch the lower lip gently while blowing air continuously.
Final Rhyme
u
Vowel Group: -u vowel group
Sounds like: -oo sound as in 'boot'
Mouth Shape Guide: Pronounce as standalone vowel 'oo'.
Common Learner Trap: Keep vowel quality steady across all 4 tone contours.
Tone
T2 (35)
3 → 5 (35)
2nd Tone (Mid-Rising)
Tone Pitch & Cadence: Tone 2 starts at mid pitch and climbs straight up to the top, exactly like asking 'What?' in English ('fú?').
Sandhi: When followed by a 4th tone syllable, the rising tone changes to a half-rising pitch.
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Listening trap: Confusing the rising tone (Tone 2) with the falling-rising tone (Tone 3), making it sound like fǔ instead of fú.
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Physical Tone Gesture: A rising hand gesture moving upward like an elevator going from the ground floor to the third floor.
3. Writing
Topology: Left-right · Strokes: 6 strokes
Writing Balance Rule: The left component (亻) should be narrower and slightly elevated, while the right component (犬) occupies the main structural weight on the right side.
4. Components
Radical亻 · Person Radical (human, person)
Semantic Clue (形旁):亻 (indicates human action or posture)
Phonetic Clue (声旁):犬 (original sound: quǎn / fú)
A person (亻) crouching low like a hunting dog (犬) hiding in the grass.
亻 person
犬 dog / phonetic clue
Phonetic Family (形声字家族)
2· Phonetic Root: 伏 (fú)
5. History
Liushu category: Phono-semantic (形声)
Origin: Originally combined a person (亻) and a dog (犬). A dog lying low or crouching became the visual root for lying flat, hiding, or ambushing.
Semantic Evolution: From a physical posture of crouching down, it expanded to mean concealing oneself, submitting to authority, and even the 'dog days' of summer when people lie low from the heat.
The 'Sanfu' (三伏) refers to the three hottest ten-day periods of summer when people traditionally stay indoors and 'lie low'.
6. Sinosphere
🇻🇳
Sino-Vietnamese
phục
Corresponds to the heavy glottal checked tone in Sino-Vietnamese vocabulary.
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Kanji (Japanese)
On: フク (fuku) / Kun: 伏.せる (fuse.ru), 伏.がる (fuse.garu)
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Hanja (Korean)
복
Sound Shift Bridge: The initial 'f' in Mandarin frequently maps to 'f' or 'h' across East Asian borrowings (e.g., Japanese fuku, Korean bok).
7. Memory
Vivid Mnemonic Story
A person (亻) drops down low on all fours like a dog (犬) to hide in the bushes and ambush the enemy.