Where 步 comes from
Modern form of 歨; putting one foot 止 in front of the other
How to write 步 (bù, “a step”)
步 (bù), an HSK 2 character, means “a step”, “a pace” and “walk”. It is HSK 2 in the 2025 syllabus, down from level 3 in the 2021 standard. It is a character whose parts combine into its meaning. Dictionaries list it under the radical 止 (“to stop”). On its own it is an HSK 4 word; it also forms 跑步 (“to run”), 散步 (“to take a walk”) and 进步 (“progress”). Japanese reads it ho, “step”.
- Pinyin
- bù
- Strokes
- 7
- HSK
- 2
- Radical
- 止 (“to stop”)
Stroke by stroke
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
- 7
- topdown and right → downwards
- toprightwards
- top leftdownwards
- leftrightwards
- centerdownwards
- leftdownwards
- rightdownwards → down and left
Trace it
Follow the numbers. Tracing help
Pinyin and meaning
| Pinyin | Meanings | Traditional | In words |
|---|---|---|---|
| bù fourth tone | a step; a pace; walk; march; stages in a process | — | 跑步 散步 进步 进一步 |
- HSK 2025 syllabus
- level 2
- 2021 standard
- level 3
- HSK 2.0
- in a level 2 word
- Words with it
- 164 in CC-CEDICT
Words with 步
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 步 | bù | a step; a pace HSK 4 |
| 跑步 | pǎobù | to run; to jog HSK 2 |
| 散步 | sànbù | to take a walk; to go for a walk HSK 4 |
| 进步 進步 | jìnbù | progress; improvement HSK 5 |
| 进一步 進一步 | jìnyíbù | to go a step further; (develop, understand, improve etc) more HSK 5 |
| 步行 | bùxíng | to go on foot; to walk HSK 5 |
| 脚步 腳步 | jiǎobù | footstep; step HSK 5 |
| 逐步 | zhúbù | progressively; step by step HSK 5 |
| 初步 | chūbù | initial; preliminary HSK 6 |
| 步骤 步驟 | bùzhòu | procedure; step HSK 6 |
HSK words first (CC-CEDICT).
Practice sheet
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HSK 2, in list order: