呼 meaning and stroke order
To breathe, to exhale, to sigh; to call, to shout
How to write 呼, stroke by stroke
8 strokes in order. Each box adds the next stroke in red. Write top to bottom and left to right, and finish enclosing strokes last.
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Meaning of 呼
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- to call
- to cry
- to shout
- to breath out
- to exhale
- variant of 呼[hu1]
How 呼 is built
Phono-semantic (sound + meaning) character. Mouth.
口 gives the meaning and 乎 hints at the sound.
Radical: 口 (mouth), shared by 428 characters on this site.
How to remember 呼
呼 combines the mouth 口 with 乎 (hū), which gives the sound. Picture air or a shout leaving the mouth, and you have both breathing out and calling out.
呼 rarely stands alone in modern speech and mostly appears in words like 呼吸 (hūxī, to breathe), 招呼 (zhāohu, to greet) and 呼吁 (hūyù, to appeal). Example: 他跟我打了个招呼。(Tā gēn wǒ dǎ le ge zhāohu.) He said hello to me.
Common mistake: Learners often drop the 口 and write 乎 (hū), a classical particle with the same sound. Also note that in 招呼 and 称呼 the 呼 is usually read in the neutral tone (zhāohu, chēnghu), not hū.
Common words with 呼
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| 呼吸 | hūxī | to breathe | HSK 4 |
| 招呼 | zhāohu | to call out to; to greet | HSK 4 |
| 称呼 | chēnghu | to call; to address as; form of address; appellation | HSK 7-9 |
| 打招呼 | dǎ zhāohu | to greet sb by word or action; to give prior notice | HSK 7-9 |
| 欢呼 | huānhū | to cheer for; to acclaim | HSK 7-9 |
| 呼唤 | hūhuàn | to call out (a name etc); to shout | HSK 7-9 |
| 呼吁 | hūyù | to call on (sb to do sth); to appeal (to) | HSK 7-9 |
| 呼救 | hūjiù | to call for help | HSK 7-9 |
| 呼声 | hūshēng | a shout; fig. opinion or demand, esp. expressed by a group | HSK 7-9 |
| 呼应 | hūyìng | to conform (with); to echo | HSK 7-9 |
| 呼风唤雨 | hūfēng-huànyǔ | to call the wind and summon the rain (idiom); to exercise magical powers; fig. to stir up | HSK 7-9 |
| 呼叫 | hūjiào | to shout; to yell | |
| 深呼吸 | shēnhūxī | to take a deep breath | |
| 呼喊 | hūhǎn | to shout (slogans etc) |
呼 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Questions about 呼
How many strokes are in 呼?
呼 is written with 8 strokes. The diagrams on this page number every stroke in the order it is written, with the new stroke shown in red.
What does 呼 mean?
呼 (hū) means to breathe, to exhale, to sigh; to call, to shout. A common word with it is 呼吸 (hūxī), meaning "to breathe".
How do you pronounce 呼?
呼 is pronounced hū, in the first tone (high and level).
What is the radical of 呼?
The radical of 呼 is 口, which carries the idea of "mouth". Dictionaries list 呼 under this radical.
What is the traditional form of 呼?
The traditional form of 呼 is 嘑. Traditional characters are used in Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau; 呼 is the simplified form used in mainland China and Singapore.
Is 呼 on the HSK exam?
Yes. 呼 is part of the HSK 4 character list in the HSK 3.0 standard, and you are expected to write it by hand from HSK 3.
What is the difference between 呼 and 吸?
呼 means to breathe out and 吸 (xī) means to breathe in. Together, 呼吸 covers the whole act of breathing.
How is 呼吁 different from 呼唤?
呼吁 (hūyù) is a formal public appeal, like calling on people to protect the environment. 呼唤 (hūhuàn) is calling out to someone, often by name, and can sound emotional or literary.