bù

蔀

Character · Verb · Noun

to cover; ancient time unit

Tone colorsmāmámǎmàma

Meanings

2 senses · 4 examples
1.

verb

to cover; to screen; to obscure

archaic

A classical or literary term, rarely used in modern spoken language.

Mì密
yè叶
bù蔀
tíng庭
 。

Dense leaves cover the courtyard.

Fú浮
yún云
bù蔀
rì日
 。

Floating clouds obscure the sun.

2.

noun

bu (an ancient time period of 76 years)

technical

A specific calendrical term used in ancient Chinese astronomy and timekeeping.

Zhōng中
guó国
gǔ古
dài代
lì历
fǎ法
zhōng中
yǒu有
bù蔀
 、
zhāng章
 、
jì纪
 、
yuán元
de的
dān单
wèi位
 。

Ancient Chinese calendrical systems had units like the bu, zhang, ji, and yuan.

Yī一
bù蔀
děng等
yú于
qī七
shí十
liù六
nián年
 。

One bu equals seventy-six years.