副 (fù): deputy; vice-; assistant

Meanings

1 deputy; vice-; assistant
2 secondary; auxiliary
3 classifier for pairs or sets (glasses, gloves, expressions)

Characters

副

fù

deputy; secondary; a pair of

Examples

他是公司的副总经理。

Tā shì gōngsī de fùzǒng jīnglǐ.

He is the deputy general manager of the company.

我需要一副眼镜。

Wǒ xūyào yī fù yǎnjìng.

I need a pair of glasses.

她露出一副惊讶的表情。

Tā lùchū yī fù jīngyà de biǎoqíng.

She showed a surprised expression.

副作用很小。

Fùzuòyòng hěnxiǎo.

The side effects are minimal.

Tips

usage

As a classifier, 副 is used for things that come in pairs or sets: 一副眼镜 (glasses), 一副手套 (gloves), 一副牌 (deck of cards), 一副表情 (an expression/look).

usage

As a prefix meaning 'deputy': 副总统 (vice president), 副教授 (associate professor), 副主任 (deputy director).

Components

radical

刂 dāo

knife (right-side radical)

Right indexing knife radical — the side-form of 刀 used on the right. The semantic logic: a knife splits something into pieces, and a 副 is one of a matching pair or a secondary copy. The cutting / dividing sense lives on in 副本 (duplicate copy), 副手 (deputy).

phonetic

畐 fú

full vessel (here phonetic)

Left 畐 supplies the sound — fú → fù, a clean phonetic match with only tone differing. Originally depicted a wine jar — a vessel filled to the top. 畐 also serves as the phonetic in 福 (fortune) and 富 (wealth), all sharing the fu reading and the abundance image lurking behind it.