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布 (bù) — cloth; fabric

Definition

At HSK 6, 布 covers two unrelated senses: the noun 'cloth / fabric' (used for material you buy by the meter to make clothes), and the verb 'to spread / announce' seen in compounds like 宣布.

noun
clothfabric
Measure word · 块
Easily confused

Examples

  • 布。
    Zhè kuài bù de yán sè hěn piào liang.
    The color of this piece of cloth is very pretty.
  • 布。
    Tā yòng bù cā le cā zhuō zi.
    He wiped the table with a cloth.
  • 布。
    Tā mǎi le jǐ mǐ bù zuò yī fu.
    She bought a few meters of fabric to make clothes.

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
巾巾jīnkerchief
Sound part声符shēngfú
父
父fù布bù
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

布 pairs 巾, a kerchief, with 父 as a sound part.

Appears in
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