父 (fù): father
父 (fù) is a Chinese character meaning “father.” Classified as HSK Level 4 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of 八 (structural) and 乂 (structural). It ranks #589 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).
Etymologically derived, 父 a hand 乂 holding an axe 八. Its radical form 父 (father) appears in many related characters such as 爷 (yé, grandpa), 爸 (bà, father), 爹 (diē, dad).
Definitions
- father
Etymology & Origin
ideographicA hand 乂 holding an axe 八
Decomposition: ⿱八乂 (layout: top-bottom)
Stroke Order
Practice writing 父 with real-time feedback — trace each stroke in the correct order and build muscle memory in the HanziFeed app.
Words & Compounds
HSK Vocabulary with 父
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | HSK |
|---|---|---|---|
| 父亲noun | fù qīn | father | 4 |
| 父母noun | fù mǔ | father and mother | 4 |
| 父子noun | fù zǐ | father and son | 4 |
| 师父noun | shī fu | used for 師傅|师傅 (in Taiwan) | 6 |
| 父女noun | fù nǚ | father and daughter | 4 |
Common Compounds
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 神父noun | shén fu | Catholic or Orthodox priest |
| 祖父noun | zǔ fù | father's father |
| 继父noun | jì fù | stepfather |
| 教父noun | jiào fù | godfather |
| 生父noun | shēng fù | biological father |
| 岳父noun | yuè fù | wife's father, father-in-law |
| 圣父proper-noun | shèng fù | Holy Father |
| 曾祖父noun | zēng zǔ fù | father's father's father |
| 祖父母noun | zǔ fù mǔ | paternal grandparents |
| 父母亲noun | fù mǔ qīn | parents |
| 养父noun | yǎng fù | foster father |
| 父爱noun | fù ài | paternal love |
| 伯父noun | bó fù | father's elder brother |
| 家父noun | jiā fù | (polite) my father |
| 叔父noun | shū fù | father's younger brother |
父 appears in 90 compound words: 26 as the first character, 50 as the last, and 24 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 父 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.
Idioms & Chengyu (7)
person that has extended great grace to someone else, particularly a person that has saved their life
Showing 6 of 7 idioms containing 父.
Example Sentences
父亲的爱深沉如山。
Fùqīn de ài shēnchén rú shān.
A father's love is as deep as a mountain.
人倫悲歌!87歲失智父涉棄屍身障兒 3萬交保
rén 倫 bēi gē ! 歲 shī zhì fù shè 棄 屍 shēn zhàng 兒 萬 jiāo bǎo
Heartbreaking Tragedy! 87-Year-Old Dementia-Stricken Father Accused of Abandoning Disabled Son's Body; Released on $30,000 Bail
「慶餘年」男星「狀告生父」歷史被挖 搖身金牌講師
慶 餘 nián nán xīng 狀 gào shēng fù 歷 shǐ bèi wā 搖 shēn jīn pái 講 師
"The Legend of the Condor Heroes" Actor's Lawsuit Against Biological Father Resurfaces, Transforming Him into a Top-Tier Lecturer
...始源8字貼文挺尹錫悅掀論戰、逸祥探望山豬父母惹淚
. . . shǐ yuán zì 貼 wén tǐng 尹 錫 悅 xiān 論 戰 yì xiáng tàn wàng shān 豬 fù mǔ rě 淚
...Sehyun's 8-character post supporting Yoon Suk-yeol sparks debate; Eunhyuk's visit to Wild Boar's parents brings tears
父親睹兒子從陽台墮下 伸手成功接住
fù 親 dǔ 兒 zǐ 從 陽 tái 墮 xià shēn shǒu chéng gōng jiē zhù
Father sees son fall from balcony, reaches out and catches him.
明真相大陸民眾新年感恩:大法師父好
míng zhēn xiāng dà 陸 mín 眾 xīn nián gǎn ēn dà fǎ 師 fù hǎo
Truth-telling mainlanders give thanks for New Year's greetings: Good day, Master Dafa!
你知道任何关于汤姆父母的事吗？
Nǐ zhīdào rènhé guānyú Tāngmǔ fùmǔ de shì ma?
Do you know anything about Tom's parents?
你们是汤姆的父母，对吧？
Nǐmen shì Tāngmǔ de fùmǔ, duì ba?
You're Tom's parents, aren't you?
汤姆还在依赖他父母吗?
Tāngmǔ hái zài yīlài tā fùmǔ ma?
Does Tom still rely on his parents?
我父亲逐渐好转了。
Wǒ fùqin zhújiàn hǎozhuǎn le.
My father is getting better by degrees.
Character Family
父 Radical Family — Characters sharing the father radical
Frequently Asked Questions
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What characters sound the same as 父 (fù)?
Is 父 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
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