父 (fù) is a Chinese character meaning “father”. It is written from ㇒ (left-falling stroke) and ㇔ (dot stroke) and ㇒ (left-falling stroke) and ㇏ (right-falling stroke), and takes 4 strokes.
Build the character for “father”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
㇒ + ㇔ + ㇒ + ㇏
Overlapping structure
- ㇒ left-falling stroke unknown
- ㇔ dot stroke unknown
- ㇒ left-falling stroke unknown
- ㇏ falling-right stroke unknown
Structure from: Unicode U+7236；按 hanzi-writer-data 2.0.1 笔画几何逐笔核对的现代字形笔画拆分（非字源）
Memory aid
Two small marks sit on top: a short left-falling stroke (㇒) on the left and a dot (㇔) on the right. Below them a long left-falling stroke (㇒) and a right-falling stroke (㇏) cross — a wide, steady stance under two raised shoulders.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
4 strokes
In real words
- 父亲fù qīnfather父 = fù
- 父母fù mǔparents父 = fù
- 伯父bó fùfather's elder brother; uncle父 = fù
- 岳父yuè fùfather-in-law (wife's father)父 = fù
Go deeper
All readings
father
father; a male relative of an older generation (as in 祖父, grandfather)
父亲；也用来称呼家族中的男性长辈。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 父亲fù qīnfather父 = fù
- 父母fù mǔparents父 = fù
- 伯父bó fùfather's elder brother; uncle父 = fù
- 岳父yuè fùfather-in-law (wife's father)父 = fù
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 父 mean?
父 (fù) means father; a male relative of an older generation (as in 祖父, grandfather).
How do you pronounce 父?
It is pronounced fù.
What parts is 父 made of?
㇒ (left-falling stroke) and ㇔ (dot stroke) and ㇒ (left-falling stroke) and ㇏ (right-falling stroke). The recorded source is: Unicode U+7236；按 hanzi-writer-data 2.0.1 笔画几何逐笔核对的现代字形笔画拆分（非字源）. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 父 have?
4. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 父?
父. The radical is how the character is filed in a dictionary — it is not the whole story of how the character is built.
What words use 父?
Common ones are 父亲 and 父母. The reading of 父 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.