How to Write 苻 (fú) — Meaning “A surname; a type of grass”

Imagine a grass (艹) growing out of a "payment" slip (付)—the grass is so tall it looks like a "fu" (苻) receipt. You can also think of the historical emperor 苻坚 (Fu Jian) whose name starts with this grass-topped character. The visual of a plant on top of a payment receipt helps link the shape to the sound fú.

Write the grass radical first with three strokes: horizontal, vertical, left-falling. Then write 付 below: first the left vertical stroke of the person component, then the horizontal and vertical hook for 寸—make sure the horizontal stroke of 寸 is slightly shorter than the top grass radical. A common mistake is making the bottom part too wide; keep 付 narrow so the whole character stays balanced.

苻 has grass on top and 付 below, while 兹 consists of two 幺 on top and 玄 below—苻 is related to a surname/herb, 兹 means "this" or "now." 艻 (lè) has grass on top and 力 below, meaning a type of grass; the key difference is the lower part: 付 (person plus a dot) vs. 力 (strength). Remember: 苻 has a "payment" bottom, 艻 has a "power" bottom.

苻 is primarily used as a surname (姓苻) in modern Chinese, especially in historical contexts such as the Former Qin emperor 苻坚 (Fu Jian). It appears in the name of a type of herb (苻草) but this usage is rare. The character is not in the HSK list, so learners will mostly encounter it when studying Chinese history or family names.

Common words containing 苻 include: 姓苻 (xìng fú) — Surname Fu; 苻坚 (fú jiān) — Fu Jian (a historical emperor); 苻草 (fú cǎo) — Fu grass (a type of herb).