怖 (bù) - Meaning, Stroke Order & Audio

怖

bù[bu4]Tone 4

terror / terrified / afraid

HSK 7

Guru Deep Dive

English · terror / terrified / afraid

Cached lesson

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Topology:Left-right

Strokes:8

Writing Balance Rule: Keep the left radical (忄) narrow and compact on the left side, leaving enough room for the right phonetic component (布) so the character looks balanced rather than split apart.

1. Meaning

terror, terrified, afraid

frightenedscared

Adjective / VerbNeutralBound morpheme#emotions#psychological state#fear

Sample Usage

恐怖
kǒngbù
terrible, terrifying, horror
可怕
kěpà
scary, frightful

2. Sound

/[pu⁵¹]/Tone: 51

怖

bùbu4

`(51)

=bù

Build the syllable

Step-by-step blending

Tone mark placement: Tone mark sits on "u" per main-vowel priority (a > e > o; in -iu/-ui the mark takes the second vowel).

Say it like:“boo”ExactTone pitch cue:sharp fall, like a command

Key difference: —

Initial Consonant

Type: Unaspirated Bilabial

Sounds like: b sound as in 'bed'

Unaspirated

Airflow Tactile Test: No burst of air. A tissue in front of lips should stay still.

Tongue & Mouth Position: Both lips pressed together briefly before releasing the sound.

Final Rhyme

Vowel Group: -u vowel group

Sounds like: oo sound as in 'boot' or 'moon'

Mouth Shape Guide: Pronounce as standalone vowel 'oo'.

Common Learner Trap: Keep vowel quality steady across all 4 tone contours.

Tone

T4 (51)

5 → 1 (51)

4th Tone (High-Falling)

Tone Pitch & Cadence: Tone 4 starts high and drops abruptly, much like an emphatic English exclamation of 'No!' or 'Down!'

👂

Listening trap: Confusing the fourth tone (falling 51) with the first tone (level 55) or second tone (rising 35). Make sure the pitch starts high and drops immediately.

👋

Physical Tone Gesture: A sharp, forceful downward chop with your hand, mirroring a stern command or a sudden drop from high to low.

3. Writing

Topology: Left-right · Strokes: 8 strokes

4. Components

Radical 忄 · Vertical Heart Radical (emotions, heart, psychological state)

Semantic Clue (形旁): 忄 (Indicates that the word relates to emotions or feelings of the heart (fear/terror).)

Phonetic Clue (声旁): 布 (original sound: bù)

The character combines the vertical heart radical (忄) on the left with the cloth/spread character (布) on the right, which provides the sound 'bù'. Mentally picture an intense emotion (heart) spreading out over someone like a heavy shroud of terror.

忄 Heart / emotion
布 Phonetic clue providing 'bù'

Phonetic Family (形声字家族)

4· Phonetic Root: 布 (bù)

5. History

Liushu category: Phono-semantic (形声)

Origin: The character combines the heart radical (忄) to represent inner feelings with 布 (bù) acting as the phonetic sound provider.

Semantic Evolution: Originally denoting feelings of anxiety or fear, it evolved to form modern compound words relating to terror and horror such as 恐怖.

The vertical heart radical (忄) is the compressed form of 心 (heart), always placed on the left side of characters.

6. Sinosphere

🇯🇵

Kanji (Japanese)

On: フ (fu) / Kun: こわ.い (kowai)

7. Memory

Vivid Mnemonic Story

Your HEART (忄) drops like a sheet of CLOTH (布) fluttering down when you are suddenly struck with TERROR (bù).

Phonetic Family (形声字家族)

布

bùvariant of 布[bu4]; to announcePhonetic Core (声旁)

鈽

+ 釒 (metal)

钸

bùplutonium (chemistry) (Tw)+ 钅 (metal)

Explore this family →

Lookalikes & Traps (形近字)

布(bù)

布 means cloth and lacks the heart radical (忄) on the left.

步(bù)

步 means step and has different top and bottom components.

8. Mastery

Active Recall Challenge

这部电影非常恐[___]。

Clue: bù

Common Learner Pitfall

Forgetting to include the vertical heart radical (忄) on the left and accidentally writing the simple cloth character 布 instead.

Memory Prompts

Recognition: When you see 怖, what emotion does it represent and how is it pronounced?

Production: How do you write the character for 'terrified/terror' (bù) using the heart radical and phonetic cloth component?

怖bùterror / terrified / afraid

Speed:

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