付 (fù) · to pay, to hand over

Meanings

1 to pay
2 to hand over

Characters

付

fù

to pay; to hand over

Contains 亻 (person) + 寸 (inch/measure) - a person handing over a measured amount.

Examples

HSK 1

你付了多少钱？

Nǐ fù le duōshao qián?

How much did you pay?

HSK 3

可以用手机付吗？

Kěyǐ yòng shǒujī fù ma?

Can I pay with my phone?

HSK 4

这顿饭我来付。

Zhè dùn fàn wǒ lái fù.

I'll pay for this meal.

Tips

usage

付 is often used in compound words: 付款 (to make a payment), 付费 (to pay a fee), 支付 (to pay, more formal).

culture

In China, mobile payment (手机支付) via WeChat Pay and Alipay is ubiquitous. Cash is rarely used in cities.

Components

radical

亻 rén

person (radical form of 人)

Left indexing person radical 亻 - left-side form of 人. Anchors 付 in the human-interaction family alongside 信 (trust), 任 (responsibility), 仰 (look up to), 借 (lend). Paying is fundamentally a transaction between persons.

semantic

寸 cùn

inch; hand-measure

Right 寸 - pictograph of a hand with a small dot marking the wrist-pulse, the ancient anatomical reference for the "inch." Here 寸 functions as a hand: 付 depicts one person handing something over to another with measured care. A textbook 会意字 (compound ideograph) - handing-over-by-hand, the original picture of payment.