弗 (fú) is a Chinese character meaning “not (literary negation, used before a verb)”. It is written from 弓 (bow) and 丿 (left-falling stroke) and 丨 (vertical stroke), and takes 5 strokes.
Build the character for “not”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
弓 + 丿 + 丨
Overlapping structure
Structure from: Unicode U+5F17 and hanzi-writer-data 2.0.1 modern glyph inspection (strokes 1-3 form 弓: 横折 / 横 / 竖折折钩; stroke 4 is 撇 丿; stroke 5 is 竖 丨)
Memory aid
Write the bow (弓) first, then run a left-falling stroke (丿) and a vertical (丨) straight down through it. Two shafts lashed across the bow — it can no longer be drawn. 弗 means "not".
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
5 strokes
In real words
- 自愧弗如zì kuì fú rúto feel ashamed of one's own inferiority; to consider oneself not as good as someone else弗 = fú
- 弗吉尼亚fú jí ní yàVirginia (US state)弗 = fú
Go deeper
All readings
not
not (literary negation, used before a verb); also used to transcribe the sound "f" in foreign names
文言否定副词，用在动词前，相当于「不」；现代汉语中多用于音译外来名称。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 自愧弗如zì kuì fú rúto feel ashamed of one's own inferiority; to consider oneself not as good as someone else弗 = fú
- 弗吉尼亚fú jí ní yàVirginia (US state)弗 = fú
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 弗 mean?
弗 (fú) means not (literary negation, used before a verb); also used to transcribe the sound "f" in foreign names.
How do you pronounce 弗?
It is pronounced fú.
What parts is 弗 made of?
弓 (bow) and 丿 (left-falling stroke) and 丨 (vertical stroke). The recorded source is: Unicode U+5F17 and hanzi-writer-data 2.0.1 modern glyph inspection (strokes 1-3 form 弓: 横折 / 横 / 竖折折钩; stroke 4 is 撇 丿; stroke 5 is 竖 丨). Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 弗 have?
5. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 弗?
弓. 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 弗?
Common ones are 自愧弗如 and 弗吉尼亚. The reading of 弗 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.