府 (fǔ) — (bound form) seat of government; government office; (bound form) official residence; mansion; (bound form, historical) prefecture (administrative district)
Definition
Bound morph meaning 'government office' or 'official residence' — only appears as part of compounds like 政府 (government), 府邸 (mansion), or 总统府 (presidential palace).
bound form
seat of governmentgovernment officeofficial residencemansion(bound form, historical) prefecture (administrative district)
Easily confused
- 俯fǔlook-aliketo lower (one's head); to bow
- 父fǔsound-alike(bound form, literary) old man, elder (in respectful compounds)
- 辅fǔsound-alike(bound form) to assist, to aid, to complement
- 斧fǔsound-alikeax, hatchet (bound form, used in compounds)
- 抚fǔsound-aliketo stroke or touch gently (with the hand)
- 腐fǔsound-alikerotten, putrid, decayed (physical)
Examples
- 。Zhōng guó zhèng fǔ fù zé zhì dìng fǎ lǜ.The Chinese government is responsible for making laws.
- 。Zhè zuò fǔ dǐ yǐ jīng yǒu sān bǎi nián de lì shǐ.This mansion already has three hundred years of history.
- 。Tā yāo qǐng wǒ qù tā de fǔ shàng zuò kè.He invited me to his home as a guest.
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.
府 shows a type of building with 广, while 付 gives the character its sound.
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