弗

A stronger form of negation than 不.

In oracle bone script (甲骨文 jiǎgǔwén), it appears as a shape of something bound or tied up, symbolizing restriction or negation.

According to the Shuowen Jiezi (説文解字 shuōwén jiězì), it depicts arrows bound together, representing an act of ceasing warfare, hence conveying “no” or “not.”

There are multiple theories about the relationship between 不 and 弗:

弗 was replaced by 不 as a simplification or phonetic borrowing.

Alternatively, during the Han dynasty, the character 弗 may have fallen out of use in names due to naming taboos (e.g., Emperor Zhao of Han's name: 劉弗陵), possibly giving way to wider use of 不.

In Korea and Japan, due to the resemblance between 弗 and the dollar symbol $, the word “불” is colloquially used to refer to dollars.

Example: 백만 불 (百萬弗) = “one million dollars”

In chemistry, 弗 is commonly used to mean fluorine in Korean and Japanese contexts.

The formal Chinese character for fluorine is 氟, made of:

气 (“gas”);

弗 (phonetic component).