弗 (fú): not (literary)

Meanings

1 not (literary)
2 used in phonetic transliterations

Characters

弗

fú

not (literary); phonetic element

Examples

弗吉尼亚是美国的一个州。

Fújíníyà shì Měiguó de yīgè zhōu.

Virginia is a state in the United States.

弗兰克是我的朋友。

Fúlánkè shì wǒ de péngyou.

Frank is my friend.

Tips

usage

弗 as 'not' is archaic and rarely used in modern Chinese. Today it appears mostly in transliterations of foreign names (弗兰克 Frank, 弗吉尼亚 Virginia).

Components

radical

弓 gōng

bow (weapon)

The bow radical supplies the outer curved frame, indexing the character. Originally 弗 pictured two crooked rods bound straight with cord — the meaning 'to correct, straighten' — and the modern silhouette has converged on 弓 as the dictionary anchor for this archery-shaped outline.

pictograph

丨 gǔn

twin vertical bars

Two vertical strokes piercing through the curved frame, picturing the pair of rods that the binding cords are wrapped around. They give 弗 its original sense of 'crooked things being forced into alignment' — from which the negative meaning 'not' developed by phonetic loan.