複 means “multiple, double, compound”

ふく · fuku

Also: duplicate

On'yomi (Chinese reading)

フク

JLPT N2 · Taught in grade 5 · 14 strokes

The story

Clothing (衤) beside 复, going back over again: 複 first meant a lined garment, cloth doubled over. Now it means more than one: 複数 is plural, 複雑 is complicated, and 複製 is a copy.

Used in 複雑 (fukuzatsu, complicated), 複数 (fukusuu, multiple/plural), and 複製 (fukusei, reproduction)

More from The Order of Things

• 翌 next
• 補 supplement
• 旧 former
• 並 line up
• 逆 reverse
• 久 long time
• 停 stop
• 順 order
• 了 finish
• 永 eternity

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

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