支付
zhī fù · to pay
我用手机支付车费。
I use my phone to pay the fare.
Chinese character · HSK 3
付 (fù) — “to pay / to hand over”
An ideogram combining a person (亻) and a hand (寸), symbolizing a person extending their hand to give or pay something to another.
Memory cue
A person (亻) extends their hand (寸) to drop a gold coin and PAY.
Video mnemonic
Watch 付 in motion
See the visual story unfold, then connect it to the words and sentences below.
Common ways to use 付
付 is read fù in words about paying, handing something over, or expending effort; in 对付 and 应付 it is usually unstressed as fu in lexicalized “deal with” meanings.
交付
jiāo fù · to deliver or hand over
公司明天交付新电脑。
The company will deliver the new computers tomorrow.
付出
fù chū · to expend or invest
学好中文需要付出时间和努力。
Learning Chinese well requires investing time and effort.
对付
duì fu · to deal with or tackle someone or something
这个问题很难对付。
This problem is difficult to deal with.
Usage note: Learn 对付 as a unit rather than interpreting each character separately. Here 付 is normally unstressed and pronounced fu, not full-tone fù.
应付
yìng fu · to deal with or cope with a situation
这些工作我能应付。
I can handle this work.
Usage note: 应付 often emphasizes being able to cope with demands or a situation. Here 付 is normally unstressed and pronounced fu.
Inside the character
- 亻 (person) — meaning component. Often marks a person, human action, or body posture.
- 寸 (hand / measure) — meaning component. A compact form often tied to hand action, control, or simplification.
Where 付 comes from
An associative compound (会意字). In oracle bone script, it depicted a person handing an object over to someone else, with '寸' representing the hand.
Don’t mix up 付
These characters are close enough in shape to misread at speed. Telling them apart is a matter of spotting the one component that differs.
- 对 (duì, correct / right) — Both contain 寸 — the difference is 亻 in 付 versus 又 in 对.
- 村 (cūn, village) — Both contain 寸 — the difference is 亻 in 付 versus 木 in 村.
Learn 付 the visual way. InkSeal pairs every HSK 1–6
character with an illustration like this one, Common-use words and sentences,
component breakdowns, etymology, and recall-first review. The first 100
characters are free.
More characters: 任 (rèn, to appoint / responsibility) · 休 (xiū, to rest) · 伞 (sǎn, umbrella) — or browse the full character library.