补 bǔ to fix
to fix; to mend; to patch; to restore; to make up for; to fill
How to remember 补: 衤 clothes + 卜 fortune teller = to fix. The clothes of the fortune teller at the fair are full of holes, so her grandson brings a needle to fix them.
Component breakdown
补 = 衤 clothes + 卜 fortune teller
- 衤 clothes
- 卜 fortune teller
The clothes of the fortune teller at the fair are full of holes, so her grandson brings a needle to fix them.
How it is used
- Core sense is to fill a gap - mend cloth, but mostly figurative: 补充 (bǔchōng) add/supplement, 弥补 (míbǔ) make up for a loss.
- 补 vs 修 (xiū): 补 fills what's missing (a hole, a shortfall), 修 fixes what's broken (a machine); 修补 (xiūbǔ) combines both for patching.
- Very productive in daily life: 补课 (bǔkè) make up a missed class, 补习 (bǔxí) extra tutoring, 补贴 (bǔtiē) a subsidy.
Words with 补
- 补充bǔchōngto replenishHSK 5
- 弥补míbǔto complementHSK 6
- 补习bǔxíto take extra lessonsHSK 6
- 补偿bǔchángto compensateHSK 6
- 补课bǔkèto make up missed lessonHSK 6
- 补贴bǔtiēto subsidizeHSK 6
- 互补hùbǔcomplementaryHSK 8
- 亡羊补牢wángyáng-bǔláoliterally to mend the pen after sheep are lostHSK 8
- 修补xiūbǔto mendHSK 8
- 填补tiánbǔto fill a gapHSK 8
- 替补tìbǔto replaceHSK 9
- 补助bǔzhùto subsidizeHSK 9
- 补救bǔjiùto remedyHSK 9
- 补给bǔjǐsupplyHSK 9