How to Write 埗 (bù) — Meaning “Wharf; pier; step.”

Imagine taking a step (步) onto the earthy ground (土) of a pier. You can visualize yourself walking down a set of steps at a wharf, where your foot lands on the soil. This connects the components to the meaning of a landing place for boats.

The left radical 土 should be written narrow and small, with the bottom horizontal stroke slightly angled upward to make room for the right side. The right part 步 has 7 strokes: start with the top '止' (a vertical then two horizontals) then add '少' (a small hook, vertical hook, and two dots). A common mistake is making the components too wide or forgetting the dot on the upper right of 步.

埗 uses 步 as its phonetic part and means a wharf or step-like structure, while 坡 (pō) uses 皮 and means a slope or hillside. 坤 (kūn) has 申 and is used in the word 乾坤 (universe) or as a symbol for female or earth. Visually, 埗 has the extra components of 步, while 坡 and 坤 have different right-side radicals.

埗 is rarely used in daily Mandarin but appears frequently in Cantonese place names, especially in Hong Kong—the most famous example is 深水埗 (Sham Shui Po), a bustling district known for markets and electronics. It also appears in words like 埗头 (pier) and 埗口 (wharf entrance), usually in older or regional contexts. Learning this character helps understand Hong Kong geography and traditional waterside vocabulary.

Common words containing 埗 include: 深水埗 (shēn shuǐ bù) — Sham Shui Po (a district in Hong Kong); 埗头 (bù tóu) — Pier; jetty.; 埗口 (bù kǒu) — Wharf entrance; pier..