How to Write 乶 (fǔ) — Meaning “Pol (character used in Korean names)”

Picture a name tag (甫) hanging from a hook (乙) — the hook looks like the letter 'P', which can remind you of the sound 'Pol'. Alternatively, think of 'Fu' (甫) writing the letter 'P' (乙) to spell 'Pol'.

Write the top component 甫 first in standard stroke order (horizontal, then the upper part, then the vertical, then the enclosures), then finish with the bottom hook 乙. A common mistake is to make the bottom hook too long or too curved; 乙 should be a sharp, compact hook that stays under 甫 without crossing its left side.

Unlike 乶, which has a complex top (甫) with multiple strokes, 乩 has a simple top (士) that looks like a 'scholar' hat, and it means 'divination'. 乳 contains a hand claw (爫) and a child component (子) on the bottom right, while 乶 has only the hook 乙 under 甫. Visually, 甫 is much taller and fuller than 士 or 爫.

乶 is not used in standard modern Chinese vocabulary; it appears almost exclusively in transcriptions of Korean names, where it represents the Hangul syllable 'Pol'. You might encounter it in historical documents or when reading Korean name lists in Chinese texts, but it is not part of HSK or everyday usage.

Common words containing 乶 include: 乶字 (fǔ zì) — the character 'Pol'; 读乶 (dú fǔ) — Read '乶'; 写乶 (xiě fǔ) — Write the character '乶'.