副

It is a phonosemantic compound character, formed by combining:

刀 (칼 도) — semantic component indicating the meaning (“knife, to cut”)

畐 (가득할 복) — phonetic component indicating the sound (fù).

Originally, this character meant “to cut” or “to divide” and was read as 복 (bok).

Over time, its meaning evolved and broadened to signify concepts like “to be second to,” “to be subordinate,” or “secondary.”

Administrative & social roles:

부사장 (副社長) — vice-president (company)

부군수 (副郡守) — deputy county governor

부회장 (副會長) — vice-chairperson

부조교 (副助敎) — assistant instructor

부반장 (副班長) — class vice-representative

General vocabulary

부작용 (副作用) — side effect

부가 (副加) — addition, supplement

부문 (副文) — supplementary text

부수 (部首/副手) — “assistant,” or separately “radical” depending on character

副 is often paired with 主 (“main”) to express hierarchy:

主任 ↔ 副主任

主席 ↔ 副主席

Historically, the character had the nuance of “supporting the main body,” a meaning preserved in many bureaucratic titles.

The phonetic 畐 appears in 富, 福, 幅, 逼, all sharing phonetic heritage.

Classical citations:

《廣雅》 (Glossary of Expansive Elegance)

「副，佐也。」

“副 means ‘to assist.’”

《禮記·王制》 (Book of Rites)

「設三公，立三孤，以副其政。」

“They established the Three Dukes and the Three Assistants to help administer the government.”

《史記·秦始皇本紀》 (Records of the Grand Historian)

「副在左右。」

“Assistants stood at his left and right.”

《後漢書》 (Book of the Later Han)

「副貳其事。」

“To aid and support in their duties.”