府 means “government office, urban prefecture”

ふ · fu

Also: borough, govt office, representative body

On'yomi (Chinese reading)

フ

JLPT N2 · Taught in grade 4 · 8 strokes

The story

Under a broad roof (广), papers handed over (付) for safekeeping: 府 began as a storehouse for records and became a seat of power. 政府 is the government, 幕府 the shogun's, and only Osaka and Kyoto are 府 among the prefectures.

Used in 政府 (seifu, government), 幕府 (bakufu, shogunate), and 京都府 (kyoutofu, Kyoto Prefecture)

More from Halls of Government

• 委 committee
• 団 group
• 勢 force
• 副 vice-
• 省 ministry
• 禁 prohibit
• 署 public office
• 則 rule
• 庁 government agency
• 令 order
• 律 law
• 臣 minister

Learn 府 and more kanji free on Fuji Learning · All kanji

Readings from KANJIDIC2, © EDRDG, CC BY-SA.