How to Write 晡 (bū) — Meaning “Late afternoon (3-5 PM)”

Imagine the sun (日) starting to set at 3-5 PM, and you see a ghost saying "Boo!" (bū) because it's getting spooky in the late afternoon. The right part 甫 looks like a person wearing a hat, so picture that ghost appearing at 晡时.

The left radical 日 should be narrow and tall, taking up about one-third of the character's width. The right part 甫 has a vertical stroke that goes through the top horizontal, and its bottom extends slightly lower than 日. A common mistake is making the right side too wide or misplacing the two small strokes at the bottom of 甫.

晡 has 日 on the left and 甫 on the right, meaning "late afternoon (3-5 PM)". 昜 (yáng) places 日 on top and 勿 below, an ancient character for sunlight. 昝 (zǎn) also has 日 on top but with a structure of 宀 and 曰 below, meaning "just now" or used as a surname.

晡 is not common in everyday conversation, but it appears in classical texts and traditional timekeeping. It is used in phrases like 晡时 (bū shí) to specify the period from 3 PM to 5 PM. In ancient China, this time was also called 申时 (shēn shí), so 晡 is a literary alternative.

Common words containing 晡 include: 晡时 (bū shí) — The period from 3 PM to 5 PM; 晡后 (bū hòu) — After late afternoon; 申晡 (shēn bū) — late afternoon (3-5 PM).