付 (fù) is a Chinese character meaning “to pay”. It is written from 亻 (person (the form 人 takes on the left)) and 寸 (cun; inch), side by side, and takes 5 strokes.
Build the character for “to pay”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
亻 + 寸
Left–right structure
Structure from: modern-glyph decomposition (IDS ⿰亻寸; 笔画数 2+3=5 与 hanzi-writer-data 2.0.1 一致)
Memory aid
A person (亻) on the left reaches out a measuring hand (寸) on the right and hands something over — that is what it means to pay.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
5 strokes
In real words
- 支付zhī fùto pay (money out)付 = fù
Go deeper
All readings
to pay
to pay; to hand over; to deliver to someone
交给；交付。多指付出款项。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 支付zhī fùto pay (money out)付 = fù
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 付 mean?
付 (fù) means to pay; to hand over; to deliver to someone.
How do you pronounce 付?
It is pronounced fù.
What parts is 付 made of?
亻 (person (the form 人 takes on the left)) and 寸 (cun; inch), side by side. The recorded source is: modern-glyph decomposition (IDS ⿰亻寸; 笔画数 2+3=5 与 hanzi-writer-data 2.0.1 一致). Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 付 have?
5. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 付?
人. 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 付?
Common ones are 支付. The reading of 付 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.