服 (fú) is a Chinese character meaning “clothes, dress”. It is written from 月 (moon; month) and 𠬝 (kneeling figure with a hand below (right-side component of 服 and 报)), side by side, and takes 8 strokes.
Build the character for “clothes; to serve, to submit to”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
月 + 𠬝
Left–right structure
- 月 moon; month · yuè unknown
- 𠬝 kneeling figure with a hand below (right-side component of 服 and 报) unknown
Structure from: IDS ⿰月𠬝（Unicode 表意文字描述序列），与 hanzi-writer-data 笔画数 4+4=8 核验一致。仅描述现代字形，左侧 月 的来源未确认
Memory aid
Two halves: 月 on the left, 𠬝 on the right. Picture a night-shift worker under the moon (月), still bending over the job (𠬝) — 服 is to serve, to submit, and the clothes you put on to do it.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
8 strokes
In real words
- 克服kè fúto overcome服 = fú
- 佩服pèi fúto admire服 = fúHSK 4
- 征服zhēng fúto conquer; to subdue; to win over服 = fú
- 驯服xùn fúto tame; docile服 = fú
- 屈服qū fúto yield; to give in; to submit服 = fú
- 服饰fú shìclothing and accessories; attire服 = fú
- 羽绒服yǔ róng fúdown jacket; down coat服 = fú
Go deeper
All readings
clothes; to submit
clothes, dress; to serve; to submit to, to be convinced by; to take (medicine)
衣服；穿衣；担任、承担；顺从、信服；吃（药）。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 克服kè fúto overcome服 = fú
- 佩服pèi fúto admire服 = fúHSK 4
- 征服zhēng fúto conquer; to subdue; to win over服 = fú
- 驯服xùn fúto tame; docile服 = fú
- 屈服qū fúto yield; to give in; to submit服 = fú
- 服饰fú shìclothing and accessories; attire服 = fú
- 羽绒服yǔ róng fúdown jacket; down coat服 = fú
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 服 mean?
服 (fú) means clothes, dress; to serve; to submit to, to be convinced by; to take (medicine).
How do you pronounce 服?
It is pronounced fú.
What parts is 服 made of?
月 (moon; month) and 𠬝 (kneeling figure with a hand below (right-side component of 服 and 报)), side by side. The recorded source is: IDS ⿰月𠬝（Unicode 表意文字描述序列），与 hanzi-writer-data 笔画数 4+4=8 核验一致。仅描述现代字形，左侧 月 的来源未确认. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 服 have?
8. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 服?
月. 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 服?
Common ones are 克服 and 佩服. The reading of 服 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.