菩 (pú) is a Chinese character meaning “used in transliterating Buddhist terms, as in 菩萨”. It is written from 艹 (grass / plant radical) and 咅 (pǒu — a sound component (立 over 口), heard in 倍, 陪, 部), one above the other, and takes 11 strokes.
Build the character for “bodhi (Buddhist term)”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
艹 + 咅
Top–bottom structure
- 艹 grass / plant radical · cǎo meaning
- 咅 pǒu — a sound component (立 over 口), heard in 倍, 陪, 部 · pǒu sound
Structure from: 说文解字「菩，艸也。从艸咅聲」；现代字形拆分 ⿱艹咅，对照 hanzi-writer-data 笔画核验：笔画 0–2 为「艹」，笔画 3–10 与「咅」逐笔对应（3+8=11 画）
Memory aid
Grass and leaves 艹 on top, 咅 (pǒu) below: picture someone sitting quietly under the leaves of the Bodhi tree (菩提). 咅 also hints at the sound pú.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
11 strokes
In real words
- 菩萨pú sàbodhisattva; Buddhist deity菩 = pú
- 菩提pú tíbodhi; enlightenment菩 = pú
Go deeper
All readings
(used in Buddhist transliterations) bodhi
used in transliterating Buddhist terms, as in 菩萨 (bodhisattva) and 菩提 (bodhi, enlightenment)
用于佛教译音词，如「菩萨」「菩提」。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 菩萨pú sàbodhisattva; Buddhist deity菩 = pú
- 菩提pú tíbodhi; enlightenment菩 = pú
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 菩 mean?
菩 (pú) means used in transliterating Buddhist terms, as in 菩萨 (bodhisattva) and 菩提 (bodhi, enlightenment).
How do you pronounce 菩?
It is pronounced pú.
What parts is 菩 made of?
艹 (grass / plant radical) and 咅 (pǒu — a sound component (立 over 口), heard in 倍, 陪, 部), one above the other. The recorded source is: 说文解字「菩，艸也。从艸咅聲」；现代字形拆分 ⿱艹咅，对照 hanzi-writer-data 笔画核验：笔画 0–2 为「艹」，笔画 3–10 与「咅」逐笔对应（3+8=11 画）. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 菩 have?
11. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 菩?
艹. 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 菩?
Common ones are 菩萨 and 菩提. The reading of 菩 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.