覆 (fù) — to cover; to overturn; to overthrow
Definition
Classical/literary verb meaning 'to cover, overturn, or overthrow.' It appears in fixed phrases like 覆盖 (cover), 颠覆 (overthrow), 倾覆 (capsize), and is rarely used alone in modern spoken Chinese.
verb
to coverto overturnto overthrow
Easily confused
Examples
- 。Dà xuě fù gài le zhěng zuò chéng shì.Heavy snow covered the entire city.
- ，。Chuán qīng fù le, suǒ yǒu rén dōu luò shuǐ le.The boat capsized, and everyone fell into the water.
- ，。Tā men diān fù le jiù zhì dù, jiàn lì le xīn guó jiā.They overthrew the old system and established a new country.
Origin
Sound + meaning六书liùshū
形声xíngshēngMost 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
襾襾yà
Sound part声符shēngfú
復
復fù覆fù
Same sound today
覆 pairs 襾, a part connected to the meaning, with 復, which gives the sound.
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