复 (fù): to go and return, to return, to resume
复 (fù) is a Chinese character meaning “to go and return.” Classified as HSK Level 3 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of 亻 (structural). It ranks #426 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).
Etymologically derived, 复 a person 亻 who goes somewhere 夂 every day 日. Its radical form 夊 (go slowly) appears in many related characters such as 夏 (xià, the Xia or Hsia dynasty c. 2000 BC).
Definitions
- to go and return
- to return
- to resume
Etymology & Origin
ideographicA person 亻 who goes somewhere 夂 every day 日
Decomposition: ⿱亻⿱日夂 (layout: top-bottom)
Stroke Order
Practice writing 复 with real-time feedback — trace each stroke in the correct order and build muscle memory in the HanziFeed app.
Words & Compounds
HSK Vocabulary with 复
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | HSK |
|---|---|---|---|
| 恢复verb | huī fù | to reinstate | 5 |
| 复杂adjective | fù zá | complicated | 4 |
| 重复verb | chóng fù | to repeat | 5 |
| 康复verb | kāng fù | to recuperate | 6 |
| 复制 | fù zhì | to duplicate | 5 |
| 回复verb | huí fù | to recover | 4 |
| 修复verb | xiū fù | to restore | 6 |
| 答复verb | dá fù | variant of 答覆|答复[da2 fu4] | 6 |
| 反复adverb/verb/noun | fǎn fù | variant of 反覆|反复[fan3 fu4] | 5 |
| 复习verb | fù xí | to review | 3 |
| 复印verb | fù yìn | to photocopy | 4 |
Common Compounds
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 报复 | bào fù | to make reprisals |
| 复仇 | fù chóu | to avenge |
| 复活 | fù huó | to revive |
| 复原 | fù yuán | to restore (sth) to (its) former condition |
| 复合 | fù hé | (of people who were estranged) to be reconciled |
| 复苏 | fù sū | to recover (health, economic) |
| 复职 | fù zhí | to resume a post |
| 复生 | fù shēng | to be reborn |
| 复发 | fù fā | to recur (of a disease) |
| 复古 | fù gǔ | to return to old ways (a Confucian aspiration) |
| 复出 | fù chū | to come back out of retirement |
| 复兴 | fù xīng | to revive |
| 不复 | bù fù | no longer |
| 复查 | fù chá | to check again |
| 复述 | fù shù | to repeat (one's own words or sb else's) |
复 appears in 100 compound words: 79 as the first character, 21 as the last, and 0 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 复 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.
Idioms & Chengyu (15)
to return to one's old bad habits; to relapse into a former undesirable state
to be doomed eternally; to be beyond redemption; to be never able to recover
Showing 12 of 15 idioms containing 复.
Example Sentences
写好复字需要掌握正确的笔画顺序。
xiě hǎo fù zì xū yāo zhǎng wò zhēng què de bǐ huà shùn xù .
To write the character "复" correctly, you need to master the proper stroke order.
米兰大教堂雕像 赞助修复便可有条件借展
mǐ lán dà jiào táng diāo xiàng zàn zhù xiū fù biàn kě yǒu tiáo jiàn jiè zhǎn
Statues of Milan Cathedral can be loaned conditionally if they sponsor the restoration
900克黄金遗漏列车 女乘客失而复得
9 0 0 kè huáng jīn yí lòu liè chē nǚ chéng kè shī ér fù dé
900 grams of gold missing train Female passenger lost and recovered
前州教育高官:神韵复兴传统的使命了不起
qián zhōu jiào yù gāo guān : shén yùn fù xīng chuán tǒng de shǐ mìng le bù qǐ
Former state education official: Shen Yun's mission to revive tradition is remarkable
7千万修复儒考棚变特卖会场!挨轰糟蹋古迹 市府称:...
7 qiān wàn xiū fù rú kǎo péng biàn tè mài huì chǎng ! āi hōng zāo tà gǔ jì shì fǔ chèn : . . .
70 million repaired Confucian examination shed into a special sale venue! The city government said: ...
10万元财物失而复得,长沙火车站春运暖心守护旅客行..
1 0 wàn yuán cái wù shī ér fù dé , cháng shā huǒ chē zhàn chūn yùn nuǎn xīn shǒu hù lǚ kè háng . .
100,000 yuan of property was lost and recovered, and Changsha Railway Station warmly guarded the passengers during the Spring Festival:
能不能请你重复一下？
Néng bù néng qǐng nǐ chóngfù yīxià?
Can you repeat that, please?
这个表格好像有点复杂，你可以帮我填吗？
Zhège biǎogé hǎoxiàng yǒudiǎn fùzá, nǐ kěyǐ bāng wǒ tián ma?
This form looks kind of complicated. Help me fill it out.
要很长的时间才能恢复吗？
Yào hěn cháng de shíjiān cáinéng huīfù ma?
Will it take long to recover?
他有任何复原的机会吗？
Tā yǒu rènhé fùyuán de jīhuì ma?
Is there any chance that he'll recover?
Character Family
夊 Radical Family — Characters sharing the go slowly radical
Related Characters
Frequently Asked Questions
What does 复 (fù) mean in Chinese?
What's the difference between 复 and 来?
How many strokes does 复 have?
What is the radical of 复?
What are the components of 复?
What are common words containing 复?
What characters sound the same as 复 (fù)?
Is 复 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
Practice writing 复 with real-time feedback
Trace stroke sequences, hear native pronunciation, and build lasting retention with spaced repetition in the HanziFeed app.