拂

bì, fú

弗 + 扌

Definitions

fú (verb) to brush off; to flick away

fú (verb) to brush lightly over (of wind; breeze)

fú (verb) to go against; to contradict

Etymology

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

Semantic: 扌 Phonetic: 弗

About

The Chinese character 拂 (fú) is a phono-semantic compound: the left side 扌 (shǒu, 'hand') signals a manual action, while the right side 弗 (fú) gives the pronunciation. The original meaning refers to a light, sweeping motion of the hand, brushing away dust, gently wiping, or lightly stroking something. Over time, it also came to express a seemingly opposite sense: to oppose or defy, as if pushing something away with the hand. This dual utility allows 拂 to evoke, for example, a soft breeze brushing the face, or the social gesture of brushing aside an instruction or rejecting a proposal.

Etymology Hide

Seal Shuowen (~100 AD)

Clerical Western Han dynasty (202 BC-9 AD)

Traditional Modern

Simplified Modern

Example Sentences Hide

微风拂过湖面。

Wēifēng fúguò húmiàn.

The breeze brushes over the lake surface.

春风拂面很舒服。

Chūnfēng fúmiàn hěn shūfu.

The spring breeze brushing the face is very comfortable.

柳枝在风中拂动。

Liǔzhī zài fēng zhōng fúdòng.

Willow branches sway in the wind.

他用拂尘打扫灰尘。

Tā yòng fúchén dǎsǎo huīchén.

He uses a duster to clean the dust.

拂晓时分我们出发。

Fúxiǎo shífēn wǒmen chūfā.

At dawn, we set out.

她轻轻拂去桌上的灰尘。

Tā qīngqīng fú qù zhuō shàng de huīchén.

She gently brushes off the dust on the table.

微风拂过，带来花香。

Wēifēng fúguò, dài lái huā xiāng.

The breeze brushes past, bringing the scent of flowers.

在拂晓的微光中，我们开始了旅程。

Zài fúxiǎo de wēiguāng zhōng, wǒmen kāishǐ le lǚchéng.

In the faint light of dawn, we began our journey.

Related Characters

Component: 弗

Component: 扌

拂