The Chinese Radical: 卜


Hanzi-Trainer
Search:
 
Meaning
oracle, mysticism    卜

Explanation This radical is considered to be a simplification of: fortune telling (crack in the shell of a turtle from which the fortune was told.). Sometimes it is read as a forking of a road.

Used in these characters:
JLPT HSK 1
upwards, on top, upon, above
shàng, shǎng
Ground , with a plant directing upwards. (opposite of)
From the horizontal ground, a plant is directed upwards.
JLPT HSK 1
down(wards), below, lower, later, next (week etc)
xià

Shows a line as ground and a plant's root underneath.
JLPT HSK 1
point, o'clock, drop (of liquid), dot stroke
diǎn
Top: fortune telling (crack in the shell of a turtle from which the fortune was told), bottom: fire
If you tell the fortune over a fire, you will get to the point.
JLPT HSK 1
table
zhuō
Top: excellent (Before the day happens: Fortune telling early at the morning is excellent. ), below: part of tree
It is excellent to use wood for: a table.
JLPT HSK 2
outside, foreign, external
wài
Left: evening (When the moon is not yet fully there, it is only evening.), right: bifurcation/parting of the ways
If you are in the evening (alone) at a fork in the road, you are: an outsider.
JLPT HSK 3
to be stuck, blocked, checkpost, calorie
kǎ, qiǎ

In the question of an up or down , you are: stuck.
JLPT HSK 4
to fall, to drop, to lag behind
diào
Left: hand , right: excellent ([before the day happens:] Fortune telling early at the morning is excellent.) [ = divining = crack in turtle's shell]
(As a support/hold when falling) A hand is excellent, when you fall.
JLPT HSK 4
to reside, to live, spot, bureau, to be in
chǔ, chù
Left: crossed legs , right: fortune telling (=crack in turtle's shell)
Sit down with crossed legs and tell fortune whether this is a good place to reside.
JLPT HSK 4
salt
yán
Top: 圤 (earth , fortune telling also understood as a branching), bottom: bowl
From earth it can be separated (branched off) and collected in a bowl: salt.
JLPT HSK 4
to divine, to occupy, to take up
zhān, zhàn

Crack in the shell of a turtle used for divination.
JLPT HSK 5
to repair, to patch, to mend, supplement

Left: clothes 衤/, right: fortune telling (here: image of a needle with a thread (cf. 针)
For the clothes, take a needle to repair.
JLPT HSK 5
to lie (for sleeping), lie down

Left: minister, official (= eye wide open), right: divine (here: a rotated cover )
For the staring eyes you need a (rotated) cover if you want to lie down to sleep.
JLPT HSK 6
to visit, to attend (a event), to go, be present

Left: to go, walk (On earth feet have to walk.), right: divine (here: forking of ways)
By going along the way's forking, you can attend that visit.
JLPT HSK 6
outstanding, excellent
zhuó
Top: divination / (crack in the shell of a turtle used for divination), below: early/fast
[before the day happens:] A divination at the early morning is: excellent.
JLPT HSK 6
cover, fish trap (basket), shade
zhào
Top: net 罒, bottom: excellent ([Before the day happens:] Fortune telling early at the morning is excellent)
A net is excellent as a cover.
JLPT HSK 6
plain and simple, unadorned
pò, pǔ, piào, pō
Left: tree , right: divine (crack in the shell of a turtle used for divination)
That tree shall be guessed, which is plain and simple.
JLPT HSK 6
to throw oneself at, to pounce on, devote one's energies

Left: hand , right: forking of a way
If your hand is at the fork of a way, you can throw yourself in the right direction.
JLPT HSK 6
mourn, lament
dào
Left: feeling , right: excellent ([Before the day happens:] Fortune telling / early at the morning is excellent)
Can feelings be excellent, when you are mourning?
JLPT no HSK
faithful, loyal, dependable, chaste
zhēn
Top: fortune telling (crack in a turtle's shell, used for divining), bottom: money
Who divines for money must be faithful.
JLPT no HSK
abbr. for Luxembourg

Top: fork in the road , bottom: buttocks in side view
Like at a forking road (between the three neighboring countries) you sit with your buttocks in Luxembourg.
JLPT no HSK
spacious, wide, generous, ample, well-off, to grip
chuò
Left: thread 纟/, right: excellent ([Before the day happens:] Fortune telling early at the morning is excellent)
Threads are excellent when they are spacious (=long?).
JLPT no HSK
skull

Left: Luxembourg 卢 (forking of the way, buttocks ), right: page, leaf, forehead 页/ (head with shoulders and eyebrows )
If there is only one hair on the head , this head is a skull.
JLPT no HSK
to divine, to forecast or estimate, turnip
bo, bǔ

Developed from the crack in the shell of a turtle, from which it was divined.
JLPT no HSK
8th divinatory trigram
guà
Left: (twice earth , here: part of way/street 街, where you walk over piled earth.), right: fortune telling (crack in a turtle's shell used for divining, sometimes also: forking of a way)
About the way with a forking, there is the: divinatory trigram.
JLPT no HSK
coat, jacket, gown, ensheath
guà
Left: clothes 衤/, right: trigram 卦 (twice earth as fortune telling in trigram)
Clothes in fortune telling can ensheath as a coat.
JLPT no HSK
to blame, fault, to punish, calamity, misfortune
jiù
Top: outside, foreign 外 (If you are in the evening [alone] at a fork in the road, you are: an outsider), bottom: mouth
An outsider's mouth blames you.
JLPT no HSK
servant, to fall prostrate
pū, pú
Left: person , right: oracle, forking road
The person who prostrates himself from the standing forward is the servant.
JLPT no HSK
to brine, salt, stupid, gravy

Above: devine (Here: handle of a cover), below: Barrel with something in
The lid on the pickle barrel with something that is brined.

Radicals are shown here that are similar either in appearance or meaning.

At the page you get the memory phrases for learning the Chinese Hanzi. If you are learning the Japanese kanji, please follow this link.



List of the characters | List of the radicals
Get the app of the Hanzi-Trainer!

The app has many other functions, such as character selection according to difficulty, practice programs, handwriting recognition and success statistics!

To the Trainer