腐

fǔ

府 + 肉

Definitions

fǔ (verb) to rot; to decay

fǔ (adjective) rotten; corrupt

Etymology

Phonosemantic compound. 府 represents the sound and 肉 represents the meaning.

Semantic: 肉 Phonetic: 付

About

In 腐, the semantic component 肉 ('meat' or 'flesh') sits at the bottom, while the phonetic 府 (fǔ, meaning 'government office' or 'mansion') is positioned above it. The original meaning is the natural spoilage and decay of meat. This concept was later extended to the decomposition of plant matter and wood, and to the production of fermented or coagulated foods like tofu. Finally, the physical sense of rotting was adopted into sociopolitical language to refer to systemic corruption, moral degradation, ideological staleness, and unethical practices of institutions or individuals failing in their duties.

Etymology Hide

Seal Shuowen (~100 AD)

Traditional Modern

Simplified Modern

Example Sentences Hide

我喜欢吃豆腐。

Wǒ xǐ huān chī dòu fu.

I like eating tofu.

水果腐烂了。

Shuǐ guǒ fǔ làn le.

The fruit has rotted.

腐败食物不能吃。

Fǔ bài shí wù bù néng chī.

Rotten food cannot be eaten.

木头已经腐朽了。

Mù tou yǐ jīng fǔ xiǔ le.

The wood has already decayed.

这种食品含有防腐剂。

Zhè zhǒng shí pǐn hán yǒu fáng fǔ jì.

This food contains preservatives.

权力可能导致腐化。

Quán lì kě néng dǎo zhì fǔ huà.

Power may lead to corruption.

社会腐败现象需要整治。

Shè huì fǔ bài xiàn xiàng xū yào zhěng zhì.

Social corruption phenomena need to be addressed.

为了防止食物腐烂，我们使用了防腐剂。

Wèi le fáng zhǐ shí wù fǔ làn, wǒ men shǐ yòng le fáng fǔ jì.

To prevent food from rotting, we used preservatives.

Related Characters

Component: 府

Component: 肉

腐