芾

fèi / fú
adjective

Meanings

  1. 1 small and densely growing

Examples

HSK 7-9
蔽芾甘棠,枝叶繁密。
Bìfèi gāntáng, zhīyè fánmì.
"Bi fei" describes a sweet pear tree, small yet thick with leaves.

Tips

usage
The 芾 reading survives almost only in 蔽芾, a Book-of-Songs phrase for a young tree that is small in size but lush with foliage. Outside that phrase, the character is read 芾 (luxuriant).

Components

radical
艹 cǎo
grass; plant
The grass radical on top, a left-side-and-top form of 草 (grass). It marks 芾 as a plant-and-vegetation word, the family that includes 花 and 草.
phonetic
巿 fú
ceremonial knee-cover (phonetic)
Supplies the sound. Standalone 巿 is an old word for a ceremonial knee apron; here it carries no meaning and only points to the fú reading. Note it differs from the look-alike 市 (market), which has a separate dot on top.

Stroke Order

芾 fèi