麩 (fū) - Meaning, Stroke Order & Audio

麩

fū[fu1]Tone 1

bran

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麸

Guru Deep Dive

English · bran

Cached lesson

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Topology:Left-right

Strokes:10

Writing Balance Rule: The left component (麦) takes up slightly less than half the horizontal space, leaving ample room for the right component (夫) to expand gracefully.

Simplification Logic: The traditional form 麩 uses the traditional version of wheat (麥) on the left, which was simplified to 麦 in modern standard Chinese.

1. Meaning

bran (the hard outer layers of cereal grain)

wheat chaff

NounNeutral#agriculture#food#grains

Sample Usage

麦麸含有丰富的纤维。
màifū hán yǒu fēngfù de xiānwéi.
Wheat bran is rich in fiber.
麸皮可以用来喂牲口。
fūpí kěyǐ yòng lái wèi shēngkǒu.
Bran can be used to feed livestock.

2. Sound

/[fu⁵⁵]/Tone: 55

麩

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 'food'

Unaspirated

Airflow Tactile Test: Continuous smooth friction.

Tongue & Mouth Position: Upper teeth resting lightly on the lower lip, blowing air continuously.

Final Rhyme

Vowel Group: -u vowel group

Sounds like: -oo rhymes with '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 is high and steady, like a sustained musical note at the top of your speaking pitch.

👂

Listening trap: Confusing it with falling tones (Tone 4) or low dipping tones (Tone 3); remember that Tone 1 stays strictly high and flat.

👋

Physical Tone Gesture: A high, flat musical note sustained at the top of your vocal range, accompanied by a level horizontal hand gesture.

3. Writing

Topology: Left-right · Strokes: 10 strokes

Writing Balance Rule: The left component (麦) takes up slightly less than half the horizontal space, leaving ample room for the right component (夫) to expand gracefully.

Simplification Logic: The traditional form 麩 uses the traditional version of wheat (麥) on the left, which was simplified to 麦 in modern standard Chinese.

4. Components

Radical 麦 · Wheat Radical (wheat, grain)

Semantic Clue (形旁): 麦 (Indicates that the substance is derived from wheat or grain.)

Phonetic Clue (声旁): 夫 (original sound: fū)

Wheat (麦) meets the man/husband component (夫) to describe the coarse outer husk left over after milling the grain.

麦 Wheat / grain
夫 Phonetic indicator providing the sound 'fū'

Phonetic Family (形声字家族)

11· Phonetic Root: 夫 (fū)

5. History

Liushu category: Phono-semantic (形声)

Origin: Combined from the semantic root 麦 (wheat) and the phonetic component 夫 (fū), created to specify the outer husk or skin of wheat grains.

Semantic Evolution: Originally referring specifically to wheat chaff or bran, the meaning remains consistent in modern culinary and agricultural contexts.

Bran was historically often used as animal feed or consumed by poorer populations during times of scarcity before its modern nutritional value in dietary fiber was appreciated.

6. Sinosphere

7. Memory

Vivid Mnemonic Story

Picture a farmer (夫) standing in the wheat (麦) field, tossing handfuls of lightweight wheat BRAN (麸) into the wind.

Phonetic Family (形声字家族)

夫

fūhusband, manPhonetic Core (声旁)

规

guīcompass, rule, regulation+ 见 (see)

扶

fúto support with the hand+ 扌 (hand)

肤

fūskin+ ⺼ (meat)

Explore this family →

Lookalikes & Traps (形近字)

肤(fū)

麸 has the wheat radical (麦) for grain bran, whereas 肤 has the flesh/body radical (月) for skin.

8. Mastery

Active Recall Challenge

全麥麵包含有豐富的麥[___]。

Clue: fū

Common Learner Pitfall

Confusing 麸 (bran) with 肤 (skin) due to identical pronunciation and similar phonetic components.

Memory Prompts

Recognition: When you see the character 麸, what does it mean and what is its radical?

Production: How do you write the character for 'bran' (fū) using the wheat radical?

麩fūbran

Speed:

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