布 bù — cloth; spread · English

布

bù

cloth; spread

At a glance · 布

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Evolution of the glyph

Five stages, from a sketch of the real object to regular script — tap a stage, drag the timeline, or play the animation.

Object sketchBefore writing · drawing what was seen
Oracle boneShang dynasty · c. 1300–1046 BCE
Seal scriptQin dynasty · 221–206 BCE
Clerical scriptHan dynasty · 206 BCE–220 CE
Regular scriptWei–Jin to Tang · c. 3rd–9th century CE

Object sketchBefore writing · drawing what was seenOracle boneShang dynasty · c. 1300–1046 BCESeal scriptQin dynasty · 221–206 BCEClerical scriptHan dynasty · 206 BCE–220 CERegular scriptWei–Jin to Tang · c. 3rd–9th century CE

⚠ Some ancient forms are not attested：oracle bone form、seal script form。No excavated oracle bone / seal artifact is attested for this character yet; we leave it blank rather than fabricate.

小篆从巾，父声，本义为麻织品（布）。形声清晰。

What the sketch shows

Origins & notes

本义为织物（麻布），引申为散布。

Structure

形声字，从巾（意符，布帛），父（fù）为声符。

At a glance

Pinyinbù

Radical巾

Strokes5

UnicodeU+5E03

Character type形声

Theme器物

Six languages, one character

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English cloth; spread Cloth; also to spread or announce.

Français étoffe; répandre Étoffe ; aussi répandre.

Español tela; difundir Tela ; también difundir.

العربية قماش؛ ينشر قماش؛ ويُستعار لـ«ينشر».

Русский ткань; распространять Ткань; также распространять.

Common words

布bùcloth
宣布xuān bùannounce

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