About
馥 is a literary adjective denoting a rich, sweet fragrance. Its phono-semantic structure pairs the semantic radical 香 (fragrant) with the phonetic component 复 (as in 腹), which indicates the pronunciation. Due to its elegant and somewhat classical tone, 馥 is seldom used in everyday speech for common smells. Instead, it appears in poetry, formal prose, and literature to describe the potent aroma of flowers or perfumes. It often occurs in the compound 馥郁 (fùyù), a refined term for a pervasive, intense fragrance.
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