fǔyǎng: 抚养 - To Raise, Nurture, Bring Up

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• Summary: Learn the deep meaning of 抚养 (fǔyǎng), the Chinese verb for raising or nurturing a child. This term goes beyond simply providing food and shelter; it encompasses the immense legal, financial, and moral responsibility parents have to bring up a child to adulthood. Understanding fǔyǎng is key to grasping Chinese cultural values around family, duty, and filial piety.

• Pinyin (with tone marks): fǔyǎng
• Part of Speech: Verb
• HSK Level: HSK 5
• Concise Definition: To raise, nurture, and provide for a child or dependent until adulthood.
• In a Nutshell: 抚养 (fǔyǎng) is a formal and serious term that describes the entire, long-term commitment of raising a child. It's not just about “looking after” them day-to-day; it's about the profound duty to support their physical, emotional, and educational development until they become independent. Think of it as the complete job description for a parent.

• 抚 (fǔ): This character's left side is the “hand” radical (扌), suggesting a physical action. The original meaning is to pat, comfort, or soothe with one's hand. It brings a sense of gentle care and affection to the word.
• 养 (yǎng): This character means to raise, to provide for, or to cultivate. It's used for raising animals (养宠物), growing plants (养花), and supporting a family (养家). It provides the sense of sustenance and practical support.
• Together: The gentle, comforting touch of 抚 (fǔ) combined with the practical, life-sustaining support of 养 (yǎng) creates the complete picture of parenthood: providing both loving care and material necessities to raise a child.

In Chinese culture, 抚养 (fǔyǎng) is not just a personal choice but a deeply ingrained social and moral obligation. It forms one half of a fundamental parent-child relationship defined by responsibility. Parents have the duty to 抚养 their children, and in return, children have the duty to 赡养 (shànyǎng) — to support their parents in old age. This dynamic is a cornerstone of filial piety (孝顺, xiàoshùn), a core Confucian value. Compared to the Western concept of “raising a child,” which often emphasizes fostering independence as the primary goal, 抚养 carries a heavier weight of sacrifice and long-term reciprocal duty. While independence is also valued, the parent-child bond forged through 抚养 is seen as a lifelong connection of mutual obligation and gratitude. The term implies a debt of love and effort that a child is expected to repay through respect and care later in life. It's less of a temporary phase and more of a permanent entry into a generational contract.

抚养 (fǔyǎng) is a formal term, most commonly encountered in specific contexts.

• Legal and Formal Settings: This is where the term is most prevalent. It's used in legal documents and court proceedings related to divorce, adoption, and inheritance. Key terms like 抚养权 (fǔyǎngquán, custody rights) and 抚养费 (fǔyǎngfèi, child support) are standard legal vocabulary.
• Serious Discussions about Parenthood: When people discuss the responsibilities, costs, and challenges of being a parent, 抚养 is the appropriate word. It conveys the gravity of the commitment. You would use it when talking about the high cost of raising a child in a big city, for example.
• Expressing Gratitude: In formal or heartfelt moments, a person might thank their parents for the hardship they endured in raising them, using the phrase “抚养之恩” (fǔyǎng zhī ēn), “the grace/kindness of raising me.”

It is generally not used in casual, everyday conversation about childcare tasks. You wouldn't use it to say you're “looking after” your kids for the afternoon. For that, you'd use 照顾 (zhàogù).

• Example 1:
  • 父母有抚养和教育子女的义务。
  • Pinyin: Fùmǔ yǒu fǔyǎng hé jiàoyù zǐnǚ de yìwù.
  • English: Parents have the obligation to raise and educate their children.
  • Analysis: This sentence highlights the formal, duty-bound nature of the word, often used in legal or official contexts.
• Example 2:
  • 她决定独自抚养这个孩子。
  • Pinyin: Tā juédìng dúzì fǔyǎng zhège háizi.
  • English: She decided to raise this child by herself.
  • Analysis: Here, 抚养 emphasizes the comprehensive, long-term responsibility she is taking on as a single parent.
• Example 3:
  • 离婚后，孩子的抚养权判给了母亲。
  • Pinyin: Líhūn hòu, háizi de fǔyǎngquán pàn gěile mǔqīn.
  • English: After the divorce, custody of the child was awarded to the mother.
  • Analysis: A very common and practical example showing the use of a key related term, 抚养权 (custody rights).
• Example 4:
  • 他每个月都要支付前妻一笔抚养费。
  • Pinyin: Tā měi ge yuè dōu yào zhīfù qiánqī yī bǐ fǔyǎngfèi.
  • English: He has to pay a sum of child support to his ex-wife every month.
  • Analysis: This demonstrates the financial aspect of the responsibility, encapsulated in the word 抚养费 (child support).
• Example 5:
  • 他是由祖父母抚养长大的。
  • Pinyin: Tā shì yóu zǔfùmǔ fǔyǎng zhǎng dà de.
  • English: He was raised by his grandparents.
  • Analysis: The structure “由…抚养” (yóu…fǔyǎng) is common for explaining who raised someone.
• Example 6:
  • 在大城市抚养一个孩子的成本太高了。
  • Pinyin: Zài dà chéngshì fǔyǎng yī ge háizi de chéngběn tài gāo le.
  • English: The cost of raising a child in a big city is too high.
  • Analysis: This is a typical topic of discussion among modern parents, where 抚养 refers to the entire financial burden of raising a child.
• Example 7:
  • 感谢父母的抚养之恩，我会好好报答他们。
  • Pinyin: Gǎnxiè fùmǔ de fǔyǎng zhī ēn, wǒ huì hǎohǎo bàodá tāmen.
  • English: I'm grateful for the kindness my parents showed in raising me, and I will repay them well.
  • Analysis: This is a very classic, slightly formal sentence that perfectly illustrates the cultural expectation of repaying the “debt” of being raised.
• Example 8:
  • 这对善良的夫妇抚养了好几个孤儿。
  • Pinyin: Zhè duì shànliáng de fūfù fǔyǎng le hǎo jǐ ge gū'ér.
  • English: This kind couple raised several orphans.
  • Analysis: 抚养 is the correct term for raising children who are not one's own, as in adoption or foster care.
• Example 9:
  • 抚养孩子不仅仅是提供物质条件，精神上的关爱更重要。
  • Pinyin: Fǔyǎng háizi bùjǐn jǐn shì tígōng wùzhì tiáojiàn, jīngshén shàng de guān'ài gèng zhòngyào.
  • English: Raising a child isn't just about providing material things; emotional care is even more important.
  • Analysis: This sentence shows a deeper reflection on the meaning of 抚养, separating it into material (物质) and spiritual/emotional (精神) components.
• Example 10:
  • 他们在讨论关于孩子未来的抚养计划。
  • Pinyin: Tāmen zài tǎolùn guānyú háizi wèilái de fǔyǎng jìhuà.
  • English: They are discussing the future plans for raising their child.
  • Analysis: A practical use of the term when making long-term plans for a child's upbringing.

• 抚养 (fǔyǎng) vs. 养 (yǎng): This is the most common point of confusion. 抚养 is almost exclusively used for the comprehensive raising of human children/dependents. 养 (yǎng) is much broader and more common.
  • Correct: 我养了一只猫。(Wǒ yǎng le yī zhī māo.) - I have a cat.
  • Incorrect: 我抚养了一只猫。(Wǒ fǔyǎng le yī zhī māo.) - This sounds overly dramatic and strange, as if you're legally and morally responsible for the cat's entire life until it becomes an “adult.”
• 抚养 (fǔyǎng) vs. 培养 (péiyǎng): 抚养 is about general upbringing—providing the necessities of life and care. 培养 (péiyǎng) is about intentionally cultivating a specific skill, talent, or habit.
  • Correct: 父母培养了我阅读的习惯。(Fùmǔ péiyǎng le wǒ yuè dú de xíguàn.) - My parents cultivated my reading habit.
  • Incorrect: 父母抚养了我阅读的习惯。(Fùmǔ fǔyǎng le wǒ yuè dú de xíguàn.) - This is grammatically nonsensical. You don't “raise” a habit in this way.
• 抚养 (fǔyǎng) vs. 照顾 (zhàogù): 抚养 is the entire, long-term project of raising a child. 照顾 (zhàogù) means “to look after” or “to take care of,” and it can be short-term or refer to a specific aspect of care.
  • “My parents 抚养 me” implies everything they did for you for 18+ years.
  • “My parents 照顾 me when I was sick” refers to a specific period of care.

• 赡养 (shànyǎng) - The direct counterpart to 抚养; the duty of adult children to provide for and support their elderly parents.
• 养育 (yǎngyù) - A very close synonym for 抚养. The character 育 (yù) means “educate,” so 养育 can sometimes carry a slightly stronger emphasis on the educational aspect of upbringing, but they are often used interchangeably.
• 培养 (péiyǎng) - To cultivate or foster a specific skill, habit, or talent. More about development than basic upbringing.
• 抚养费 (fǔyǎngfèi) - Child support; the money paid by one parent to another for the purpose of raising a child.
• 抚养权 (fǔyǎngquán) - Custody rights; the legal right to raise a child.
• 照顾 (zhàogù) - To take care of, to look after. A more general and less formal term for caregiving.
• 养家 (yǎngjiā) - To support a family, specifically in the financial sense (lit. “raise the family”).
• 孝顺 (xiàoshùn) - Filial piety; the cultural virtue of being respectful, obedient, and dutiful to one's parents, which is the expected response to their 抚养.