湖 meaning and stroke order
Lake
How to write 湖, stroke by stroke
12 strokes in order. Each box adds the next stroke in red. Write top to bottom and left to right, and finish enclosing strokes last.
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
- 7
- 8
- 9
- 10
- 11
- 12
Meaning of 湖
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- lake
How 湖 is built
Phono-semantic (sound + meaning) character. Water.
氵 gives the meaning and 胡 hints at the sound.
Radical: 氵 (water), shared by 467 characters on this site.
How to remember 湖
湖 (hú) is water 氵 plus 胡 (hú), which gives the sound. Picture water spreading out next to the sound hú and you have a lake.
湖 is the everyday word for a lake, and it often appears at the end of lake names like 西湖 (Xī Hú, West Lake). It also stands for Hubei and Hunan provinces, which are named for their position north and south of Dongting Lake. Example: 我们去湖边散步吧。(Wǒmen qù húbiān sànbù ba.) Let's go for a walk by the lake.
Common mistake: Learners often confuse 湖 with 胡 (hú, as in 胡子 húzi, beard) or 糊 (hú, paste, muddled) because they sound the same. Only 湖 has the water radical 氵, so look for the three drops when you mean a lake.
Common words with 湖
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
湖 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Questions about 湖
How many strokes are in 湖?
湖 is written with 12 strokes. The diagrams on this page number every stroke in the order it is written, with the new stroke shown in red.
What does 湖 mean?
湖 (hú) means lake. A common word with it is 湖泊 (húpō), meaning "lake".
How do you pronounce 湖?
湖 is pronounced hú, in the second tone (rising).
What is the radical of 湖?
The radical of 湖 is 氵, which carries the idea of "water". Dictionaries list 湖 under this radical.
Is 湖 on the HSK exam?
Yes. 湖 is part of the HSK 2 character list in the HSK 3.0 standard, and you are expected to write it by hand from HSK 2.
What is the difference between 湖 and 湖泊?
湖 is used on its own in speech and in names, like 这个湖很大 (zhège hú hěn dà). 湖泊 (húpō) is a more formal or general term for lakes as a category, common in geography and writing.
What does 江湖 mean beyond rivers and lakes?
Literally 江湖 (jiānghú) is rivers and lakes. It also means the wider world outside official society, from hermits' retreats to the world of wandering martial artists in wuxia stories. Today people also use it loosely for the rough world of social dealings.