How to Write 脯 (fǔ/pú) — Meaning “dried meat; preserved fruit; chest”

Think of a piece of dried meat hanging under the moon at night – the left part 月 is moon/meat, and the right part 甫 looks like a square piece of meat with a line through it. Another way: imagine someone saying 'Foo!' (甫 sounds like 'foo') while eating a piece of preserved fruit (果脯).

Write the left radical 月 first (three strokes: vertical, horizontal, horizontal), then the right part 甫 (8 strokes). The key is to keep 脯 balanced: the 月 should be narrow, and 甫 should be roughly equal in height. A common mistake is making the top horizontal of 甫 too long, which unbalances the character.

脯 (fǔ/pú) has 月 on the left and 甫 on the right, while 朐 (qú) has 月 on the left and 句 (jù/gōu) on the right. 朐 is rare and means 'dried meat' or a place name. 朔 (shuò) has 月 on the right and 朔 (partly from 屰) on the left, meaning 'new moon' or 'north' – completely different meaning.

脯 appears in two main contexts: food and anatomy. 果脯 (guǒ fǔ) means 'preserved fruit' or 'candied fruit', a common snack or gift in Chinese cuisine. 胸脯 (xiōng pú) means 'chest' or 'breast' (of a person or animal). Note the pronunciation change: it's fǔ for dried/preserved items and pú for body parts.

Common words containing 脯 include: 果脯 (guǒ fǔ) — preserved fruit; candied fruit; 脯氨酸 (pú ān suān) — proline (an amino acid); 胸脯 (xiōng pú) — chest; breast.