How to Write 稃 (fū) — Meaning “husk; glume”

Picture a grain of rice (禾) being hugged tightly by a protective wrapper like a baby bird (孚, which also means 'to hatch' or 'brood'). Imagine the husk as a cozy shell that keeps the seed safe before it sprouts. This visual of a grain wrapped in a husk helps link the parts to the meaning.

Pay attention to the right side 孚: it has four dots — two above and two below the horizontal line, not three. Also ensure the left radical 禾 is narrow and the right part is slightly wider, with the horizontal stroke of 孚 extending past the left side of the upper dots. Common mistakes include misplacing the dots or writing the right side too tall.

稃 (fū) means 'husk' or 'glume' and is used only in agricultural contexts, while 秘 (mì) means 'secret' or 'mysterious' and has the phonetic component 必 (bì). 秝 (lì) is a rare character meaning 'thin' or 'sparse', with two 禾 side by side. Visually, 稃 has the extra right part 孚, whereas 秘 has 必 on the right and 秝 simply repeats 禾.

稃 is not common in daily conversation; you will mainly find it in botanical or agricultural texts describing the parts of grains, such as rice or wheat. It appears in terms like 谷稃 (grain husk) and 稃片 (glume fragment). Outside of specialized literature or farming contexts, most Chinese speakers rarely use or recognize this character.

Common words containing 稃 include: 谷稃 (gǔ fū) — grain husk; chaff; 稃皮 (fū pí) — husk; chaff; 稃片 (fū piàn) — glume; husk fragment.