府 (fǔ) is a Chinese character meaning “government”. It is written from 广 (wide; dotted cliff radical) and 付 (to hand over; to pay), one enclosing the other, and takes 8 strokes.
Build the character for “government office”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
广 + 付
Enclosing structure
Structure from: 现代字形构形分析（笔画数据核验：⿸广付，3+5=8 画）；只描述今形，不追溯古字来源
Memory aid
Under a wide roof (广), documents are handed over (付) from one desk to the next — a government office.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
8 strokes
In real words
- 政府zhèng fǔgovernment府 = fǔHSK 4
- 官府guān fǔthe authorities; government office (in former times)府 = fǔ
Go deeper
All readings
government office
government; government office; official residence; (historically) a prefecture
国家的行政机关；旧时指官员办公或居住的处所。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 政府zhèng fǔgovernment府 = fǔHSK 4
- 官府guān fǔthe authorities; government office (in former times)府 = fǔ
Sound component
付 family tone diff
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 府 mean?
府 (fǔ) means government; government office; official residence; (historically) a prefecture.
How do you pronounce 府?
It is pronounced fǔ.
What parts is 府 made of?
广 (wide; dotted cliff radical) and 付 (to hand over; to pay), one enclosing the other. The recorded source is: 现代字形构形分析（笔画数据核验：⿸广付，3+5=8 画）；只描述今形，不追溯古字来源. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 府 have?
8. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 府?
广. 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 府?
Common ones are 政府 and 官府. The reading of 府 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.