卜

蔔

bǔ, bó

Definitions

bǔ (verb) to divine; to foretell

bo (noun) turnip

Etymology

Pictograph of a crack on a bone. In ancient China such cracks were used for fortune-telling.

About

卜 originated as a visual depiction of the cracks on animal bones or tortoise shells used in ancient divination, capturing the main fissure and its shorter intersecting branch. Its structure, a vertical stroke crossed by a shorter lateral stroke, serves as both a semantic and phonetic component in characters related to foresight or fortune-telling. The meaning evolved from the specific act of interpreting these cracks to the broader concepts of divination, predicting the future, or seeking supernatural guidance, and it remains a standalone radical grouping characters associated with similar practices.

Etymology Hide

Oracle etymology image

Oracle (~1250-1000 BC)

Oracle etymology image

Oracle (~1250-1000 BC)

Bronze etymology image

Bronze Early Western Zhou (~1000 BC)

Bronze etymology image

Bronze Mid Western Zhou (~900 BC)

Seal etymology image

Seal Chu (Warring States: 475-221 BC)

Seal etymology image

Seal Shuowen (~100 AD)

Seal etymology image

Seal Shuowen (~100 AD)

Clerical etymology image

Clerical Qin dynasty (221-206 BC)

Clerical etymology image

Clerical Western Han dynasty (202 BC-9 AD)

Clerical etymology image

Clerical Western Han dynasty (202 BC-9 AD)

Clerical etymology image

Clerical Eastern Han dynasty (25-220 AD)

Traditional Modern

Simplified Modern

Example Sentences Hide

妈妈买了红萝卜。

Māma mǎi le hóng luóbo.

Mom bought carrots.

今天晚餐有萝卜汤。

Jīntiān wǎncān yǒu luóbo tāng.

There is radish soup for dinner tonight.

他用萝卜做了沙拉。

Tā yòng luóbo zuò le shālā.

He made salad with radishes.

卜卦预测未来并不科学。

Bǔguà yùcè wèilái bìng bù kēxué.

Divination to predict the future is not scientific.

古代人常用占卜决定大事。

Gǔdài rén cháng yòng zhānbǔ juédìng dàshì.

Ancient people often used divination to decide important matters.

这位巫师精通各种卜术。

Zhè wèi wūshī jīngtōng gè zhǒng bǔ shù.

This wizard is proficient in various divination techniques.

在市场上，白萝卜和红萝卜都很便宜。

Zài shìchǎng shàng, bái luóbo hé hóng luóbo dōu hěn piányi.

In the market, white radishes and carrots are both very cheap.

虽然卜卦结果如此，但他还是坚持自己的选择。

Suīrán bǔguà jiéguǒ rúcǐ, dàn tā háishì jiānchí zìjǐ de xuǎnzé.

Although the divination result was like this, he still insisted on his own choice.

Related Characters

Composed characters:

Component: 卜

Example Words