How to Write 咐 (fù) — Meaning “to instruct; to tell”

Imagine that the left part 口 is a mouth and the right part 付 looks like a person (亻) with a hand (寸, from 付) giving a command. Think: "Using your mouth to give orders to someone — that's 咐." Another trick: 付 sounds like "fu" in "futile" — but it's not futile; it's a direct instruction.

Write the left radical 口 first (3 strokes: vertical, horizontal bend, horizontal), making it small and placed high. Then write 付 (5 strokes: left vertical, horizontal, vertical hook, dot, and final small horizontal). Keep the right side slightly wider than the left and align the top of 口 with the top of 付's left vertical.

咐 uses 付 (to give/pay) and means 'to instruct', while 吁 has 干 (dry) and means 'to sigh' or 'hush'. 吂 has 亡 (death) and is rare, usually meaning 'blurred vision' or 'wild talk'. Visually, 咐 has a clear 'person with hand' component on the right, whereas 吁 has a flat right side and 吂 has a slanting right side.

咐 almost never appears alone; it is always part of words like 吩咐 (fēn fù, to command) and 嘱咐 (zhǔ fù, to exhort). You might say 'Mother 嘱咐 me to study hard' or 'The boss 吩咐 the team to finish the project.' It conveys a sense of verbal instruction often from a person in authority or a caring figure.

Common words containing 咐 include: 吩咐 (fēn fù) — to instruct, to command; 嘱咐 (zhǔ fù) — to tell; to exhort; to enjoin; 托咐 (tuō fù) — to entrust.