步 — a step; a pace; walk
a step; a pace; walk; march; stages in a process; situation
- Pinyin
- bù · Bù
- Strokes
- 7
- HSK level
- HSK 2
- Handwriting
- recognition only
This character has more than one reading — bù, Bù — and the pronunciation depends on the word it appears in. The list below gives the syllabus reading for each word.
How to write 步: 7 strokes
Each cell adds one stroke to the previous ones, with the new stroke in red. Stroke order is not decoration: it sets the proportions of the character and makes handwriting legible to a reader. The syllabus asks you to recognise this character rather than write it by hand.
Words with 步 in the HSK syllabus: 19
Every word in the official 2026 syllabus that contains this character, with the level it is introduced at. Learning a character pays off through these: each one combines with the characters you already know.
- 跑步pǎobùto run; to jog; to march at the doubleHSK 2
- 步bùa step; a pace; walk; march; stages in a processHSK 4
- 散步sànbùto take a walk; to go for a walkHSK 4
- 步行bùxíngto go on foot; to walkHSK 5
- 脚步jiǎobùfootstep; stepHSK 5
- 进步jìnbùprogress; improvement; to improve; to progressHSK 5
- 进一步jìnyíbùto go a step further; more; furtherHSK 5
- 逐步zhúbùprogressively; step by stepHSK 5
- 步骤bùzhòuprocedure; stepHSK 6
- 初步chūbùinitial; preliminary; tentativeHSK 6
- 步伐bùfápace; step; marchHSK 7–9
- 步入bùrùto step into; to enterHSK 7–9
- 地步dìbùstage; degree; a situation; leewayHSK 7–9
- 起步qǐbùto set out; to set in motion; the startHSK 7–9
- 让步ràngbùto concede; to give in; to yield; a concessionHSK 7–9
- 同步tóngbùsynchronous; to synchronize; to keep step withHSK 7–9
- 徒步túbùto be on footHSK 7–9
- 退步tuìbùto do less well than before; to make a concessionHSK 7–9
- 止步zhǐbùto halt; to stop; to go no fartherHSK 7–9
Glosses come from CC-CEDICT, used under CC BY-SA 4.0, and are the dictionary’s first sense rather than a translation chosen for context.