敷 (fū) - Meaning, Stroke Order & Audio

敷

fū[fu1]Tone 1

to apply or spread

HSK 7

Guru Deep Dive

English · to apply or spread

Cached lesson

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Topology:Left-right

Strokes:15

Writing Balance Rule: The left side (Director of Public Works) and the right side (general/common) must be balanced in width so neither crowds the other.

1. Meaning

to apply (ointment, powder, etc.) or spread out

to lay outsufficient to coverenough

VerbFormal#medical treatment#application#quantity

Sample Usage

医生给他的伤口敷了药。
yī shēng gěi tā de shāng kǒu fū le yào.
The doctor applied medicine to his wound.
经费敷用。
jīng fèi fū yòng.
The funds are sufficient for use.

2. Sound

/[fu⁵⁵]/Tone: 55

敷

fūfu1

¯(55)

=fū

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).

Initial Consonant

Type: Labiodental Fricative

Sounds like: f sound as in 'foo'

Unaspirated

Airflow Tactile Test: Continuous smooth friction.

Tongue & Mouth Position: Upper teeth touch the lower lip gently, releasing continuous friction air.

Final Rhyme

Vowel Group: -u vowel group

Sounds like: oo sound as in 'too'

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

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

Tone

T1 (55)

5 → 5 (55)

1st Tone (High-Flat)

Tone Pitch & Cadence: Tone 1 stays flat and high like a monotone musical note at the top of your vocal range.

👂

Listening trap: Do not confuse with the second tone (fú) which rises; maintain a flat, high pitch throughout.

👋

Physical Tone Gesture: A high, flat level pitch like a high musical note held steady across a flat horizon.

3. Writing

Topology: Left-right · Strokes: 15 strokes

Writing Balance Rule: The left side (Director of Public Works) and the right side (general/common) must be balanced in width so neither crowds the other.

4. Components

Radical 攴 · action / rap radical (hit or tap)

Semantic Clue (形旁): 攴 (indicates an action being performed with the hand or tool)

Phonetic Clue (声旁): 甫 (original sound: fǔ)

The left side is 甫 (fǔ - beginning / great), and the right side is 攴 (pū - action/hand tapping). Together they evoke spreading or laying something out systematically over a surface.

甫 Provides the phonetic sound clue and hint of spreading
攴 Provides the semantic action of applying or spreading with the hand

Phonetic Family (形声字家族)

2· Phonetic Root: 旉

5. History

Liushu category: Phono-semantic (形声)

Origin: Combined from 甫 (phonetic/signifying greatness or unfolding) and 攴 (action of striking or applying), originally meaning to spread out or lay evenly.

Semantic Evolution: Shifted from a general sense of spreading or laying out to specifically applying medicine/ointments and further extending to sufficiency (covering needs).

Frequently used in traditional Chinese medical contexts for applying herbal pastes.

6. Sinosphere

🇯🇵

Kanji (Japanese)

On: フ / Kun: 敷.く

🇰🇷

Hanja (Korean)

敷

Sound Shift Bridge: Mandarin fū corresponds to Japanese onyomi fu.

7. Memory

Vivid Mnemonic Story

Imagine a great scholar (甫) using his hands (攴) to carefully spread healing ointment (敷) across an injury.

Phonetic Family (形声字家族)

旉

Phonetic Core (声旁)

Explore this family →

Lookalikes & Traps (形近字)

博(bó)

Has the ten/cross radical on the left instead of 甫.

8. Mastery

Active Recall Challenge

护士在病人的伤口上___了一层药膏。

Clue: fū

Common Learner Pitfall

Confusing the 15-stroke complex structure with simpler phonetic lookalikes like 博 or 捕.

Memory Prompts

Recognition: When you see 敷, what core action does it describe?

Production: How do you write the character meaning 'to apply ointment' (fū)?

敷fūto apply or spread

Speed:

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