扶

Phono-semantic compound consisting of:

手 (손 수) — semantic component, indicating hand or action performed with the hand.

夫 (지아비 부) — phonetic component, giving the pronunciation fú and connoting firmness or manly strength.

Thus, 扶 literally means “to raise or steady (something) with the hand.”

In Shuowen Jiezi (說文解字):

「扶，拄也。从手，夫聲。」

“扶 means to prop up or support; composed of 手 (hand) and phonetic 夫.”

The original sense was to support someone physically, e.g., to help an elder walk, then extended to aid or assist in general.

Semantic evolution:

Physical: to lift or steady with one’s hand.

Social / moral: to assist or uphold (a cause, person, or virtue).

Extended: to support economically or politically.

Figurative: to restore, strengthen, or sustain in adversity.

This pattern — from manual to moral aid — parallels many “hand-radical” verbs in Chinese.

扶助 (부조) — assistance, financial or moral support

扶養 (부양) — to support, maintain (especially one’s parents or dependents)

扶持 (부지) — to sustain, to assist (archaic/literary)

扶掖 (부액) — to help and encourage

扶危 (부위) — to aid the endangered; to save in crisis

扶老 (부로) — to help the elderly (扶老攜幼 “to help the old and carry the young”)

扶正 (부정) — to set right, restore to correctness

Book of Songs (詩經 · 小雅):

「扶王之軌。」

“To uphold the king’s path” — 扶 here means “to support in maintaining righteousness.”

Book of Documents (書經 · 大禹謨):

「扶彼不義。」

“To oppose and correct what is unrighteous.”

Zhuangzi (莊子 · 齊物論):

「扶揺而上者九萬里。」

“The great bird Peng rises with the whirlwind for ninety thousand li” — Here 扶揺 (부요) uses 扶 metaphorically as “rising with” — to ascend by assistance of wind.

From 扶老攜幼 (“help the old and carry the young”) to 扶危濟困 (“save those in distress”), the character embodies the Confucian ideal of 仁 (benevolent aid) — extending the hand both in physical and ethical support.