服 (fú) means "clothes, to submit" with 8 strokes, radical 月 (meat), HSK 1 on the new exam.
Pronunciation
Meaning
Primary: clothes
Other meanings:
- to submit
Etymology
Oracle-bone origin
Oracle-bone 服 shows a hand (又) pressing a kneeling person down beside a boat or platform shape. The scene depicts submission or forcible service; subjugating someone to work. The left-hand 月 component here is again 肉/flesh or a boat radical depending on the analyst, not the moon.
Form evolution
Bronze forms keep the hand-and-kneeling-figure clearly. Seal script regularised the right side into 𠬝 (a hand over a bent figure) and fixed the left component as 月. Clerical flattening produced the modern 服 with its clean left-right split, though the original pictorial meaning is completely lost to the eye.
How the meaning evolved
The earliest sense was 'to submit, to subjugate, to serve'. From 'serving' came 'to perform a duty' and 'mourning service', and from 'submitting to wear' came the concrete sense 'clothing, to wear'. Modern Mandarin keeps all these layers: 服从 (obey), 服务 (serve), 衣服 (clothing), 服药 (take medicine).
Cultural note
The same character covers obedience and clothing because classical Chinese treated putting on a garment as a form of submission to social role. The idiom 心服口服 (convinced in heart and mouth) preserves the 'submit' sense that modern learners often meet only through 衣服.
Mnemonic
The body bows again — clothes, to submit
Decomposition
Breaking a character into its components makes it far easier to recall. Each component above links to its own detail page.
Basic info
| Pinyin | fú |
| Meanings | clothes, to submit |
| Stroke count | 8 strokes |
| Radical | 月 (#130: meat) |
| New HSK exam | Recognise at HSK 1 |
| Frequency | #103 most common |
Example sentences
Words containing 服
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | HSK |
|---|---|---|---|
| 服务员 | fúwùyuán | waiter | |
| 衣服 | yīfu | cloth | HSK 1 |
| 舒服 | shūfu | comfortable | HSK 2 |
| 说服 | shuōfú | Persuade | HSK 5 |
| 服装 | fúzhuāng | costume; dress | HSK 5 |
| 克服 | kèfú | Overcome | HSK 5 |
| 佩服 | pèifu | Admire | HSK 6 |
| 不服 | bùfú | to refuse to accept, unconvinced | HSK 7-9 |
| 服 | fú | clothes, to submit | HSK 6 |
| 服从 | fúcóng | to obey, to submit to | HSK 6 |
| 服气 | fúqì | to be convinced, to give in | HSK 7-9 |
| 服饰 | fúshì | dress and ornaments | HSK 7-9 |
| 服务 | fúwù | to serve, service | HSK 3 |
Related characters
On the new HSK 1 exam
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Frequently Asked Questions
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Reviewed by RJ Murray, Founder, HSK Lord.