How to Write 卜 (bo/bǔ) — Meaning “divination / to divine”

Imagine a fortune teller holding a small stick (the vertical stroke) and making a tiny mark (the horizontal stroke) on the ground to predict your future. The stick and mark together look like the character 卜, reminding you of divination. You can also think of the word 'bo' as the sound of a bone cracking during a reading.

Write the short downward-left stroke first, then the longer vertical stroke that goes downward with a slight curve to the right. A common mistake is making the first stroke too long or forgetting the curve at the bottom of the vertical stroke, which makes it look like a simple cross. Keep the top stroke short and the vertical stroke slightly bent for a natural appearance.

⺊ is an archaic component that looks like a vertical line with a dot, used only inside other characters, not alone. 卞 (biàn) has an extra dot on top and means 'hasty' or a surname, while 卜 is a standalone character for divination. Visually, 卜 has two strokes with a short horizontal line on the left, while 卞 has a dot above a similar shape.

Today, 卜 appears mainly in the common word 萝卜 (luóbo, radish) and in traditional divination words like 占卜 (zhānbǔ) and 卜卦 (bǔguà). It is rarely used alone in daily speech, but you may see it in fortune-telling shops or ancient texts. Culturally, divination (卜) was a respected practice in early Chinese history, often performed by royal priests using oracle bones.

Common words containing 卜 include: 萝卜 (luó bo) — radish; 占卜 (zhān bǔ) — divination / to divine; 卜卦 (bǔ guà) — to cast a horoscope / divination.