卜

See also: 蔔, ト, and ㅏ

卜 U+535C, 卜 CJK UNIFIED IDEOGRAPH-535C ← 卛 [U+535B] CJK Unified Ideographs 卝 → [U+535D]

⼘ U+2F18, ⼘ KANGXI RADICAL DIVINATION ← ⼗ [U+2F17] Kangxi Radicals ⼙ → [U+2F19]

Translingual

Stroke order

Han character

卜 (Kangxi radical 25, 卜+0, 2 strokes, cangjie input 卜 (Y), four-corner 2300₀, composition ⿰丨丶)

1. Kangxi radical #25, ⼘.

Derived characters

• Appendix:Chinese radical/卜
• 仆, 𫨦, 圤, 处, 外, 𭑧, 𫶽, 扑, 𣱶, 𣅃, 朴, 𤆊, 㺪, 𦘱, 𭁅, 䃼, 𪽁, 𤰘, 𥃨, 𥐚, 𥝒, 𥩖, 补, 𫃚, 𦓦, 虲, 訃(讣), 𧴤, 赴, 䟔, 𨈒, 𨊣, 𤱈, 釙(钋), 𩚅(𬲥), 𩡭, 𩨓, 𩱻, 𬵂, 𪋿, 𪐙, 𭻣
• 𠚬, 𠚩, 𭭄, 𨾇, 鳪, 盀, 㓀, 𪢱, 𭶺, 𫁰, 𤴩, 𡆥

References

• Kangxi Dictionary: page 157, character 25
• Dai Kanwa Jiten: character 2774
• Dae Jaweon: page 361, character 15
• Hanyu Da Zidian (first edition): volume 1, page 91, character 11
• Unihan data for U+535C

Chinese

Glyph origin

Historical forms of the character 卜
Shang	Western Zhou	Warring States		Shuowen Jiezi (compiled in Han)	Liushutong (compiled in Ming)
Oracle bone script	Bronze inscriptions	Chu slip and silk script	Qin slip script	Small seal script	Transcribed ancient scripts

Characters in the same phonetic series (卜) (Zhengzhang, 2003) 

	Old Chinese
仆	*pʰoːɡs, *pʰus, *pʰoɡs, *bɯːɡ, *pʰoːɡ
赴	*pʰoɡs
訃	*pʰoɡs
朴	*pʰroːɡ
圤	*pʰroːɡ
卜	*poːɡ
鳪	*poːɡ
扑	*pʰoːɡ
攴	*pʰoːɡ, *pʰroːɡ

Perhaps a pictogram (象形) of a crack in an oracle bone, used for divination in ancient China.

Officially adopted as the simplified form of 蔔 in the Chinese Character Simplification Scheme (《漢字簡化方案》) in 1956.

Etymology 1

simp. and trad.		卜
alternative forms		𠁡 𠁢

"Cracking" of a bone or tortoise shell in fire: "to divine by oracle bone" (Schuessler, 2007). Compare Galo -`buk (“to burst”), Galo -`puk (“to pop”), Mizo puak (“to explode; to burst”) (STEDT).

Pronunciation

• Mandarin

  (Pinyin): bǔ (bu³)

  (Zhuyin): ㄅㄨˇ

• Cantonese (Jyutping): buk¹
• Hakka

  (Sixian, PFS): puk

  (Meixian, Guangdong): bug⁵

• Eastern Min (BUC): bók
• Puxian Min (Pouseng Ping'ing): borh⁶
• Southern Min

  (Hokkien, POJ): pok / poh

  (Teochew, Peng'im): bog⁴

• Wu (Shanghai, Wugniu): ⁷poq

---

• Mandarin
  • (Standard Chinese)⁺
    • Hanyu Pinyin: bǔ
    • Zhuyin: ㄅㄨˇ
    • Tongyong Pinyin: bǔ
    • Wade–Giles: pu³
    • Yale: bǔ
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: buu
    • Palladius: бу (bu)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /pu²¹⁴/
• Cantonese
  • (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)
    • Jyutping: buk¹
    • Yale: būk
    • Cantonese Pinyin: buk⁷
    • Guangdong Romanization: bug¹
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /pʊk̚⁵/
• Hakka
  • (Sixian, incl. Miaoli and Neipu)
    • Pha̍k-fa-sṳ: puk
    • Hakka Romanization System: bug^ˋ
    • Hagfa Pinyim: bug⁵
    • Sinological IPA: /puk̚²/
  • (Meixian)
    • Guangdong: bug⁵
    • Sinological IPA: /pʊk̚¹/
• Eastern Min
  • (Fuzhou)
    • Bàng-uâ-cê: bók
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /pouʔ²⁴/
• Puxian Min
  • (Putian)
    • Pouseng Ping'ing: borh⁶
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /pɒʔ¹/
  • (Xianyou)
    • Pouseng Ping'ing: borh⁶
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /pɒʔ²/
• Southern Min
  • (Hokkien: Xiamen, Quanzhou, Zhangzhou, General Taiwanese)
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: pok
    • Tâi-lô: pok
    • Phofsit Daibuun: pog
    • IPA (Quanzhou): /pɔk̚⁵/
    • IPA (Xiamen, Zhangzhou, Taipei, Kaohsiung): /pɔk̚³²/
  • (Hokkien: General Taiwanese)
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: poh
    • Tâi-lô: poh
    • Phofsit Daibuun: poiq
    • IPA (Taipei): /poʔ³²/
    • IPA (Kaohsiung): /pɤʔ³²/

Note:

• poh - also written as 博, incl. surname (Taiwan);
• pok - incl. surname (Mainland).

• (Teochew)
  • Peng'im: bog⁴
  • Pe̍h-ōe-jī-like: pok
  • Sinological IPA ^(key): /pok̚²/
• Wu
  • (Northern: Shanghai)
    • Wugniu: ⁷poq
    • MiniDict: poh^入
    • Wiktionary Romanisation (Shanghai): ⁴poq
    • Sinological IPA (Shanghai): /poʔ⁵⁵/

---

• Dialectal data

Variety	Location	edit 卜
Mandarin	Beijing	/pu²¹⁴/
	Harbin	/pʰu²¹³/
	Tianjin	/pʰu¹³/
	Jinan	/pu⁵⁵/
	Qingdao	/pu⁵⁵/
	Zhengzhou	/pu⁵³/
	Xi'an	/po²¹/
	Xining	/pv̩⁴⁴/
	Yinchuan	/puə¹³/ 姓 /pu¹³/ ～算子
	Lanzhou	/pə¹³/
	Ürümqi	/pʰu⁵¹/
	Wuhan	/pʰu²¹³/
	Chengdu	/pu¹³/
	Guiyang	/pʰu²¹/
	Kunming	/pʰu³¹/
	Nanjing	/puʔ⁵/
	Hefei	/pʰəʔ⁵/
Jin	Taiyuan	/pəʔ²/
	Pingyao	/pʌʔ¹³/
	Hohhot	/pəʔ⁴³/ ～拉 /pei⁵⁵/ 萝～
Wu	Shanghai	/poʔ⁵/
	Suzhou	/poʔ⁵/
	Hangzhou	/pʰoʔ⁵/
	Wenzhou	/po²¹³/
Hui	Shexian	/pɔʔ²¹/
	Tunxi	/pʰu⁵/
Xiang	Changsha	/pʰu²⁴/
	Xiangtan	/pʰu²⁴/
Gan	Nanchang
Hakka	Meixian	/puk̚¹/
	Taoyuan	/puk̚²²/
Cantonese	Guangzhou	/pok̚⁵/
	Nanning	/pʰuk̚⁵⁵/
	Hong Kong	/puk̚⁵/
Min	Xiamen (Hokkien)	/pɔk̚³²/ /poʔ³²/
	Fuzhou (Eastern Min)	/pɔuʔ²³/
	Jian'ou (Northern Min)	/pʰu²⁴/
	Shantou (Teochew)	/pok̚²/
	Haikou (Hainanese)	/ʔbɔk̚⁵/ /ʔbak̚⁵/

---

• Middle Chinese: puwk

Rime
Character	卜
Reading #	1/1
Initial (聲)	幫 (1)
Final (韻)	屋 (3)
Tone (調)	Checked (Ø)
Openness (開合)	Open
Division (等)	I
Fanqie	博木切
Baxter	puwk
Reconstructions
Zhengzhang Shangfang	/puk̚/
Pan Wuyun	/puk̚/
Shao Rongfen	/puk̚/
Edwin Pulleyblank	/pəwk̚/
Li Rong	/puk̚/
Wang Li	/puk̚/
Bernhard Karlgren	/puk̚/
Expected Mandarin Reflex	bu
Expected Cantonese Reflex	buk1

• Old Chinese

  (Baxter–Sagart): /*pˤok/

  (Zhengzhang): /*poːɡ/

Baxter–Sagart system 1.1 (2014)
Character	卜
Reading #	1/1
Modern Beijing (Pinyin)	bǔ
Middle Chinese	‹ puwk ›
Old Chinese	/*pˁok/
English	divine (v.)
Notes for Old Chinese notations in the Baxter–Sagart system: * Parentheses "()" indicate uncertain presence; * Square brackets "[]" indicate uncertain identity, e.g. *[t] as coda may in fact be *-t or *-p; * Angle brackets "<>" indicate infix; * Hyphen "-" indicates morpheme boundary; * Period "." indicates syllable boundary.

Zhengzhang system (2003)
Character	卜
Reading #	1/1
No.	998
Phonetic component	卜
Rime group	屋
Rime subdivision	0
Corresponding MC rime	卜
Old Chinese	/*poːɡ/

Definitions

卜

1. to divine

   • 予惟乙卯，朝至于洛師。我卜河朔黎水。 [Classical Chinese, trad.]
     予惟乙卯，朝至于洛师。我卜河朔黎水。 [Classical Chinese, simp.]

     From: The Book of Documents, circa 4^th – 3^rd century BCE

     Yǔ wéi yǐmǎo, zhāo zhì yú Luòshī. Wǒ bǔ Héshuò Lí shuǐ. [Pinyin]

     On the day Yi-mao, I came in the morning to this capital of Luo. I (first) divined by the shell concerning (the ground about) the li-water on the north of the He.

2. (literary) to foretell; to predict

   生死未卜  ―  shēngsǐwèibǔ  ―  no one knows whether the person is dead or alive

3. (literary) to choose

   卜居  ―  bǔjū  ―  to choose a place to live

4. a surname

Compounds

• 不卜可知
• 前途未卜
• 十卜 (sap6 bok1) (Cantonese)
• 卜人
• 卜兒 / 卜儿
• 卜卜
• 卜卦 (bǔguà)
• 卜吉
• 卜夜卜晝 / 卜夜卜昼
• 卜婿
• 卜宅
• 卜居 (bǔjū)
• 卜年 (bǔnián)
• 卜度
• 卜征
• 卜日
• 卜易
• 卜晝卜夜 / 卜昼卜夜
• 卜珓 (bǔjiào)
• 卜祝
• 卜窀穸
• 卜筮 (bǔshì)
• 卜算
• 卜築 / 卜筑
• 卜老
• 卜者
• 卜課 / 卜课 (bǔkè)
• 卜辭 / 卜辞 (bǔcí)
• 卜鄰 / 卜邻 (bǔlín)
• 占卜 (zhānbǔ)
• 吉凶未卜
• 吉卜賽人 / 吉卜赛人 (jíbǔsàirén)
• 問卜 / 问卜 (wènbǔ)
• 太卜
• 存亡未卜
• 成都賣卜 / 成都卖卜
• 拉卜楞
• 未卜 (wèibǔ)
• 未卜先知 (wèibǔxiānzhī)
• 枚卜
• 死生未卜
• 殷墟卜辭
• 求神問卜 / 求神问卜 (qiúshénwènbǔ)
• 油花卜
• 狼卜食
• 玉枝卜壽 / 玉枝卜寿
• 羊卜
• 老醫少卜 / 老医少卜
• 耳卜
• 貞卜文字 / 贞卜文字
• 貨卜 / 货卜
• 賣卜 / 卖卜
• 賣卜測字 / 卖卜测字
• 醫卜星相 / 医卜星相
• 響卜 / 响卜
• 預卜 / 预卜 (yùbǔ)
• 鳥卜 / 鸟卜
• 龜卜 / 龟卜 (guībǔ)

 

Etymology 2

For pronunciation and definitions of 卜 – see 蔔 (“carrot”). (This character is the simplified form of 蔔).

Notes: Simplified Chinese is mainly used in Mainland China, Malaysia, and Singapore. Traditional Chinese is mainly used in Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan.

Etymology 3

For pronunciation and definitions of 卜 – see 欲 (“(Min) to want (to do); about to”). (This character is a variant form of 欲).

References

• “Entry #64”, in 教育部臺灣台語常用詞辭典 [Dictionary of Frequently-Used Taiwanese Taigi] (overall work in Mandarin and Hokkien), Ministry of Education, R.O.C., 2024.

Japanese

Kanji

卜

(Jinmeiyō kanji)

Readings

• Go-on: ほく (hoku)
• Kan-on: ほく (hoku)
• Kan’yō-on: ぼく (boku)
• Kun: うらなう (uranau, 卜う)、うらない (uranai)

Etymology 1

Kanji in this term
卜
うらない Jinmeiyō
kun'yomi

For pronunciation and definitions of 卜 – see the following entry.

【占うらない】 [noun] fortune-telling

(This term, 卜, is an alternative spelling of the above term.)

Etymology 2

Kanji in this term
卜
ぼく Jinmeiyō
kan'yōon

Noun

卜(ぼく) • (boku) 

1. (archaic) fortune-telling
2. (archaic) choosing

Derived terms

• 卜(ぼく)する (bokusuru, “tell fortunes”)

Etymology 3

Kanji in this term
卜
うら Jinmeiyō
kun'yomi

For pronunciation and definitions of 卜 – see the following entry.

【占うら】S [noun] (archaic) fortune-telling

(This term, 卜, is an alternative spelling of the above term.)

Korean

Hanja

卜 (eumhun 점 복 (jeom bok))

1. hanja form^? of 복 (“to divine”)

Tày

Adjective

卜 (bốc, phoóc)

1. Nôm form of bốc (“dry”).

   忒㳍𱺵㳍卜

   Rẳc bó là bó bốc

   (please add an English translation of this usage example)

2. Nôm form of phoóc (“foolish”).

   坎󰝧宗𫰴卜

   Khảm khỉn tổng sao phoóc

   (please add an English translation of this usage example)

Verb

卜 (fộc)

1. Nôm form of fộc.

References

• Lục Văn Pảo, Hoàng Tuấn Nam (2003) Hoàng Triều Ân, editor, Từ điển chữ Nôm Tày [A Dictionary of (chữ) Nôm Tày]‎^[1] (in Vietnamese), Hanoi: Nhà xuất bản Khoa học Xã hội

Vietnamese

Han character

卜: Hán Việt readings: bốc, bặc
卜: Nôm readings: bói, bóc, vúc, bốc, vốc, vóc, bặc, cốc

Verb

卜

1. ăn bốc (咹卜, to eat with the fingers)

References

• Nôm Foundation
• Lê Sơn Thanh, "Nom-Viet.dat", WinVNKey (details)

Zhuang

Noun

卜

1. Sawndip form of boh

Classifier

卜

1. Sawndip form of boux