How to Write 赋 (fù) — Meaning “to give; tax; poetic essay”

Imagine a military officer (武) handing over money (贝) as a tax payment, so "military gives money." This picture helps you remember that 赋 means both "tax" and "to give" and also appears in words like 天赋 (natural talent, a gift from nature).

The left 贝 must be narrow, about one-third of the character's width, with the last stroke (dot) placed correctly. On the right, 武 has a diagonal hook (斜钩) that extends slightly below the left side, and be sure to write the small dot above this hook — forgetting this dot is a common mistake.

赋 has 武 (military) on the right, while 贼 has 戎 (weapon) — note that 贼's right side lacks the dot above the hook and ends with a 戈 stroke. 賏 is completely different: it is two 贝 side by side (like 贝贝) and means a string of shells, whereas 赋 has one 贝 on the left and a complex right side.

赋 appears in common words like 天赋 (natural talent), 赋予 (to endow), and 赋税 (taxes). It also refers to a classical Chinese poetic form called "fu" (赋), which was especially popular during the Han Dynasty and combines poetry and prose to describe objects or scenes in a grand style.

Common words containing 赋 include: 天赋 (tiān fù) — Natural talent; gift.; 赋予 (fù yǔ) — to endow; to entrust; to give; 赋税 (fù shuì) — taxes; taxation.