扑 (pū) is a Chinese character meaning “to throw oneself at”. It is written from 扌 (hand (radical form)) and 卜 (divination), side by side, and takes 5 strokes.
Build the character for “to throw oneself at; to pounce”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
扌 + 卜
Left–right structure
Structure from: 说文解字（扑，挨也。从手卜聲）
Memory aid
A hand (扌) shoots out past the diviner's stick (卜) — 扑 is the hand throwing itself forward to pounce or swat.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
5 strokes
In real words
- 扑打pū dǎto swat; to beat at; to pat扑 = pū
- 扑火pū huǒto fight a fire; to beat out flames扑 = pū
Go deeper
All readings
to throw oneself at; to pounce
to throw oneself at; to pounce on; to swat or beat at something (dust, flames, insects); to flap
向前猛冲过去；用手或器具拍打（灰尘、火苗、虫子）。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 扑打pū dǎto swat; to beat at; to pat扑 = pū
- 扑火pū huǒto fight a fire; to beat out flames扑 = pū
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 扑 mean?
扑 (pū) means to throw oneself at; to pounce on; to swat or beat at something (dust, flames, insects); to flap.
How do you pronounce 扑?
It is pronounced pū.
What parts is 扑 made of?
扌 (hand (radical form)) and 卜 (divination), side by side. The recorded source is: 说文解字（扑，挨也。从手卜聲）. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 扑 have?
5. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 扑?
手. 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 扑?
Common ones are 扑打 and 扑火. The reading of 扑 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.