Writing Balance Rule: The left radical (衤) occupies about one-third of the horizontal space, leaving the right component (甫) slightly wider and heavier.
Simplification Logic: The traditional character 補 uses the full 衣 radical on the left (6 strokes), whereas the simplified version uses 衤 (4 strokes), reducing total stroke count from 12 to 7.
1. Meaning
to repair or patch
to mendto make up forto fill a vacancyto supplement
VerbNeutral#action#maintenance#support
Sample Usage
衣服破了，需要补一补。
yīfu pò le, xūyào bǔ yi bǔ.
The clothes are torn and need to be mended.
我们要努力补上落后的 A 课。
wǒmen yào nǔlì bǔ shàng luòhòu de kè.
We must work hard to make up for the lagging lessons.
2. Sound
/[pu²¹⁴]/Tone: 214
補
bǔbu3
|
++
ˇ(214)
=bǔ
Initial Consonant
b
Type: Unaspirated Bilabial
Sounds like: b sound as in 'boy'
Unaspirated
Airflow Tactile Test: No burst of air. A tissue in front of lips should stay still.
Tongue & Mouth Position: Both lips pressed together firmly before releasing the breath without a puff of air.
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
T3 (214)
2 → 1 → 4 (214)
3rd Tone (Low-Dipping)
Tone Pitch & Cadence: Tone 3 starts mid-low, dips down to the bottom of your vocal range, and rises back up, similar to saying 'What?' in disbelief.
Sandhi: When followed by another 3rd tone, bǔ changes to a 2nd tone (rising 35), e.g., 补贴 bǔtiē becomes bútiē in fast speech.
👂
Listening trap: Confusing the low dipping Tone 3 with Tone 4 (sharp drop), which completely changes lexical meaning in certain contexts.
👋
Physical Tone Gesture: Start at a mid-low pitch, dip down to your chest, and sweep your hand upward like a checkmark to signal Tone 3.
3. Writing
Topology: Left-right · Strokes: 7 strokes
Writing Balance Rule: The left radical (衤) occupies about one-third of the horizontal space, leaving the right component (甫) slightly wider and heavier.
Simplification Logic: The traditional character 補 uses the full 衣 radical on the left (6 strokes), whereas the simplified version uses 衤 (4 strokes), reducing total stroke count from 12 to 7.
4. Components
Radical衤 · Clothing Radical (clothing or fabric)
Semantic Clue (形旁):衤 (indicates that the action relates to garments, textiles, or repairing fabric)
Phonetic Clue (声旁):甫 (original sound: fǔ / bǔ)
A piece of clothing (衤) that is guided by a wooden frame or rule (甫) to be neatly mended back together.
衤 clothing radical on the left
甫 phonetic and structural component on the right
Phonetic Family (形声字家族)
21· Phonetic Root: 甫 (fǔ)
5. History
Liushu category: Phono-semantic (形声)
Origin: Originally combined the cloth/clothing signific (衣 variant 衤) with 甫 (fǔ, representing a plot of land or boundary, later used phonetically) to denote patching up torn garments.
Semantic Evolution: Expanded from literal clothing repair (patching fabric) to abstract repairs, supplementation, making up for deficits, and filling vacancies.
In classical texts, it frequently referred to patching armor or official garments.
6. Sinosphere
🇻🇳
Sino-Vietnamese
bổ
Corresponds to the Vietnamese hỏi tone, sharing a dipping-rising contour.
🇯🇵
Kanji (Japanese)
On: ホ / Kun: おぎなう
🇰🇷
Hanja (Korean)
보
Sound Shift Bridge: The initial 'b' and rhyme 'u' parallel the Sino-Japanese On'yomi 'ho' and Korean 'bo'.
7. Memory
Vivid Mnemonic Story
You take a piece of torn CLOTHING (衤) and use a sturdy tool (甫) to PATCH and REPAIR it back to perfection.
Phonetic Family (形声字家族)
哺
bǔto feedUses the mouth radical (口) because feeding involves the mouth.
捕
bǔto catch / to arrestUses the hand radical (扌) because catching requires using your hands.
辅
fǔto assistUses the carriage/vehicle radical (车) indicating support.
Lookalikes & Traps (形近字)
捕(bǔ)
捕 has a hand radical (扌) for grabbing/arresting, while 补 has a clothing radical (衤) for mending fabric.
哺(bǔ)
哺 has a mouth radical (口) for feeding, while 补 has a clothing radical (衤) for repairing clothes.
8. Mastery
Active Recall Challenge
這件衣服破了，我需要把它[___]好。
Clue: bǔ
Common Learner Pitfall
Confusing the left radical 衤 (clothing) with 礻 (spirit/altar), which completely changes the character category and semantic domain.
Memory Prompts
Recognition: What does 补 mean when you see it combined with 习 in 补习 (to take extra lessons)?
Production: How do you write the character for 'to mend/supplement' (bǔ) using the clothing radical?
Real-World Video Context
Watch authentic native speakers pronounce and explain this word in real-world YouTube videos.
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補bǔto repair, mend, or supplement
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