幅 (fú): measure word for paintings, pic…

Meanings

1 measure word for paintings, pictures, textiles
2 width (of cloth)

Characters

幅

fú

width (of cloth); measure word for paintings

Examples

墙上挂着一幅画。

Qiángshàng guà zhe yī fú huà.

A painting hangs on the wall.

这幅照片拍得真好。

Zhè fú zhàopiàn pāi de zhēn hǎo.

This photo was taken really well.

他画了一幅山水画。

Tā huà le yī fú shānshuǐhuà.

He painted a landscape painting.

Tips

usage

幅 is specifically for flat visual works: 一幅画 (a painting), 一幅照片 (a photo), 一幅地图 (a map). Don't use it for books or 3D objects.

Components

radical

巾 jīn

cloth; towel

Cloth radical on the left — 幅 originally meant the width of a bolt of cloth, a textile measurement. Paintings and scrolls were mounted on silk and unrolled by the bolt, so the measure word migrated naturally from cloth widths to flat hanging works.

phonetic

畐 fú

full vessel (here phonetic)

畐 (fú) supplies an exact phonetic match. 畐 itself pictures a full wine-jar. Same phonetic in 福 (fú, fortune), 富 (fù, wealth), 副 (fù, deputy), 辐 (fú, spoke) — a tightly clustered fú/fù family.