副 (fù) — secondary; auxiliary; vice- (in official titles)

Definition

In official titles 副 marks a deputy or vice-rank (副校长, 副厂长) — the second-in-command, not just 'less important'. Compare 次要 (simply secondary in importance, no rank sense).

adjective
secondaryauxiliaryvice- (in official titles)
Easily confused

Examples

  • 副。
    Tā gāng bèi rèn mìng wèi fù chǎng zhǎng.
    He was just appointed deputy factory director.
  • 。
    Zhè fèn hé tong yǒu yí fèn fù běn.
    This contract has a copy.
  • 副。
    Zhè ge xué xiào de fù xiào zhǎng xìng zhāng.
    The vice-principal of this school is surnamed Zhang.

Origin

Sound + meaning
六书liùshū
形声xíngshēng

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
刂Written in full as刀dāoknife
Sound part声符shēngfú
畐
畐fú副fù
Same sound today

副 is built from 畐, which gives its sound, and 刂, a form of the knife 刀.

Appears in
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