How to Write 铺 (pū/pù) — Meaning “To spread / To pave”

Imagine using a metal shovel (钅) to spread gravel on a road, starting from the very beginning (甫 sounds like 'first' in Chinese). This mental image of paving a road from scratch helps link the components to the verb meaning 'to pave.'

The left radical 钅 is written with 5 strokes: first a left-falling stroke, then three horizontals, and finally a vertical lift. The right side 甫 has 7 strokes: start with a horizontal, vertical, horizontal hook, two horizontals, another vertical, and end with a dot. A common mistake is misplacing the middle vertical stroke in 甫—it should go straight down through the two lower horizontals.

All three share the metal radical 钅, but their right parts differ: 铺 has 甫 (meaning 'begin'), 钰 has 玉 (jade), and 钱 has 戋 (small). For meaning, 铺 relates to paving or shops, 钰 is a rare name element meaning 'treasure', and 钱 means 'money'. Visually, the right side of 铺 is taller and has a vertical through the middle, while 钰's right side is squarer and 钱's right side is narrower.

铺 has two pronunciations: pū (verb, to spread or pave) and pù (noun, shop or berth). Common words include 店铺 (diàn pù, shop), 卧铺 (wò pù, sleeping berth), and 铺路 (pū lù, to pave a road). Culturally, 铺路 is also used metaphorically to mean 'paving the way' or preparing for future success, and traditional shops are often called 铺子 (pù zi).

Common words containing 铺 include: 店铺 (diàn pù) — Shop; store; 卧铺 (wò pù) — sleeping berth; sleeper; 铺路 (pū lù) — To pave a road.