补 (bǔ): to mend, to supplement
补 (bǔ) is a Chinese character meaning “to mend, to supplement.” Classified as HSK Level 5 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of 衤 (semantic) and 卜 (phonetic). It ranks #944 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).
Etymologically derived, 补 cloth. Its radical form 衤 (clothing) appears in many related characters such as 衣 (yī, clothing), 表 (biǎo, exterior surface), 装 (zhuāng, dress, install).
Definitions
- to mend, to supplement
Etymology & Origin
Stroke Order
Practice writing 补 with real-time feedback — trace each stroke in the correct order and build muscle memory in the HanziFeed app.
Words & Compounds
HSK Vocabulary with 补
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | HSK |
|---|---|---|---|
| 补偿verb | bǔ cháng | to compensate | 6 |
| 弥补verb | mí bǔ | to complement | 6 |
| 补充verb | bǔ chōng | to replenish | 5 |
| 补贴verb/noun | bǔ tiē | to subsidize | 6 |
| 补习verb | bǔ xí | to take extra lessons in a cram school or with a private tutor | 6 |
| 补课verb | bǔ kè | to make up missed lesson | 6 |
Common Compounds
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 补给verb | bǔ jǐ | supply |
| 补救verb | bǔ jiù | to remedy |
| 修补verb | xiū bǔ | to mend |
| 填补verb | tián bǔ | to fill a gap |
| 替补 | tì bǔ | to replace (a damaged component with a new one, an injured player with a substitute player, full-time workers with ca... |
| 候补verb | hòu bǔ | to wait to fill a vacancy |
| 于事无补 | yú shì wú bǔ | unhelpful |
| 补助noun | bǔ zhù | to subsidize |
| 补丁 | bǔ ding | patch (for mending clothes, tires etc) |
| 补习班noun | bǔ xí bān | cram class |
| 互补verb | hù bǔ | complementary |
| 补考verb | bǔ kǎo | to sit for a makeup exam |
| 补给品noun | bǔ jǐ pǐn | supplies |
| 补过verb | bǔ guò | to make up for an earlier mistake |
| 缝补verb | féng bǔ | to darn (clothing) |
补 appears in 101 compound words: 67 as the first character, 32 as the last, and 1 in a middle position. Compound statistics computed from SUBTLEX-CH and HSK 3.0 vocabulary data.
Strongest Collocations
Characters that most frequently co-occur with 补 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.
Idioms & Chengyu (13)
lit. pull down the east wall to repair the west (idiom); fig. temporary expedient; Rob Peter to pay Paul
(after a sum has been paid in advance) to refund (in case of overpayment) or be reimbursed (in case of underpayment)
take from the long to supplement the short (idiom); to offset each other's deficiencies; to complement each other
to cut one's flesh to cover a sore (idiom); faced with a current crisis, to make it worse by a temporary expedient
lit. pull down the east wall to repair the west (idiom); fig. temporary expedient; Rob Peter to pay Paul
(after a sum has been paid in advance) to refund (in case of overpayment) or be reimbursed (in case of underpayment)
Showing 11 of 13 idioms containing 补.
Example Sentences
这件衣服破了个洞，需要补一下才能继续穿。
Zhè jiàn yīfu pò le gè dòng, xūyào bǔ yíxià cáinéng jìxù chuān.
This garment has a hole and needs to be mended before continuing to wear.
....3元增17% 大行估50亿恒生股息入账补资本
. . . . 3 yuán zēng 1 7 dà háng gū 5 0 yì héng shēng gǔ xī rù zhàng bǔ zī běn
.... 3 yuan increased by 17% The big bank estimated that 5 billion Hang Seng dividends were recorded to supplement capital
辉达GTC将秀新品 台积、鸿海等营运进补
huī dá G T C jiāng xiù xīn pǐn tái jī , 鸿 hǎi děng yíng yùn jìn bǔ
Nvidia GTC will show off new products TSMC, Hon Hai and other operating supplements
牙痛要人命!蛀牙不补死亡风险增1.7倍
yá tòng yāo rén mìng ! zhù yá bù bǔ sǐ wáng fēng xiǎn zēng 1 . 7 bèi
Toothache can kill people! The risk of death without tooth decay increased by 1.7 times
...分钟到现场,武水集团洪山营业所除夕火速修补井盖
. . . fēn zhōng dào xiàn chǎng , wǔ shuǐ jí tuán hóng shān yíng yè suǒ chú xī huǒ sù xiū bǔ jǐng gě
... Minutes to the scene, Wushui Group Hongshan business office New Year's Eve fire repair manhole cover
国补2026年最新政策通知消息:手机家电汽车...
guó bǔ nián zuì xīn zhèng cè tōng zhī xiāo xī shǒu jī jiā diàn qì chē . . .
State subsidies 2026 latest policy notification news: cell phone home appliances car...
小洞及时补，免遭大洞苦。
Xiǎo dòng jíshí bǔ, miǎnzāo dà dòng kǔ.
A stitch in time saves nine.
弥补永远不会太晚。
Míbǔ yǒngyuǎn bù huì tài wǎn.
It's never too late to make amends.
这种问题该有补救办法。
Zhèzhǒng wèntí gāi yǒu bǔjiù bànfǎ.
This type of problem should be able to be solved.
他把墙壁的洞补好了。
Tā bǎ qiángbì de dòng bǔ hǎo le.
He has patched up the hole in the wall.
Character Family
Frequently Asked Questions
What does 补 (bǔ) mean in Chinese?
What's the difference between 补 and 扑?
How many strokes does 补 have?
What is the radical of 补?
What are the components of 补?
What are common words containing 补?
What characters sound the same as 补 (bǔ)?
Is 补 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
Practice writing 补 with real-time feedback
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