How to Write 埔 (bù/pǔ) — Meaning “Plain; level ground.”

Picture a flat piece of land (土) with a little signpost (甫) standing on it, marking the plain. The signpost helps you recall the sound bǔ, like "boo" for a flat area.

Write the left radical 土 first as three strokes (horizontal, vertical, horizontal), then the right part 甫 in seven strokes. A common mistake is making the left side too wide—keep it narrow so the character stays balanced. The top horizontal of 土 should be shorter than the bottom one.

埔 (bù) means a plain or level ground, and is mainly used in place names. 坡 (pō) means a slope or hillside, with a different right component (皮). 坤 (kūn) represents the female principle or earth, with the radical 土 on the left and 申 on the right. They look different due to their right-side parts and have distinct meanings.

埔 appears almost exclusively in place names, such as 黄埔 (Huángpǔ) in Guangzhou and Shanghai, and 大埔 (Dàbù) in Hong Kong. It is not a common daily character, so learners will encounter it mainly when reading maps or talking about these regions.

Common words containing 埔 include: 黄埔 (huáng pǔ) — Huangpu (a district in Shanghai or Guangzhou); 埔里 (pǔ lǐ) — Puli (a town in Taiwan).; 大埔 (dà bù) — Tai Po (place name).