扶

fú

夫 + 扌

HSK 2.0Level 5

HSK 3.0Level 5

Definitions

fú (verb) to support with hand; to help up

fú (verb) to support oneself by holding onto something

fú (verb) help; assist; support

Etymology

Phonosemantic compound. 扌 represents the meaning and 夫 represents the sound.

Semantic: 扌 Phonetic: 夫

About

The character 扶 is a phono-semantic compound with the semantic radical 扌 (a variant of the hand radical 手) on the left, indicating it relates to a manual action. The component 夫 on the right provides the phonetic element for its pronunciation. Its core meaning is the physical act of supporting or steadying someone or something with the hand, such as helping a person stand or preventing an object from falling. This concrete sense naturally extended to the more abstract idea of assisting or aiding those in need.

Etymology Hide

Bronze Late Shang dynasty (~1100 BC)

Bronze Late Spring and Autumn (~500 BC)

Seal Shuowen (~100 AD)

Clerical Qin dynasty (221-206 BC)

Clerical Western Han dynasty (202 BC-9 AD)

Clerical Eastern Han dynasty (25-220 AD)

Clerical Western Jin dynasty (266-316 AD)

Traditional Modern

Simplified Modern

Example Sentences Hide

我扶你起来。

Wǒ fú nǐ qǐlái.

I help you up.

妈妈扶着我走路。

Māma fúzhe wǒ zǒulù.

Mom is supporting me while walking.

我们应该扶助贫困的人。

Wǒmen yīnggāi fúzhù pínkùn de rén.

We should assist poor people.

他赶紧扶住快要跌倒的朋友。

Tā gǎnjǐn fúzhù kuàiyào diēdǎo de péngyou.

He quickly supported his friend who was about to fall.

政府实施了扶贫计划。

Zhèngfǔ shíshī le fúpín jìhuà.

The government implemented a poverty alleviation plan.

在公共汽车上，他扶住了扶手。

Zài gōnggòng qìchē shàng, tā fúzhù le fúshǒu.

On the bus, he held onto the handrail.

她小心翼翼地扶着病人坐起来。

Tā xiǎoxīn yìyì de fúzhe bìngrén zuò qǐlái.

She carefully helped the patient sit up.

为了扶植本地产业，政府提供了多项优惠政策。

Wèile fúzhí běndì chǎnyè, zhèngfǔ tígōng le duō xiàng yōuhuì zhèngcè.

In order to foster local industries, the government provided multiple preferential policies.

Related Characters

Component: 夫

Component: 扌

扶