TraceHanzi

狐 meaning and stroke order

hú

Fox

8 strokesRadical 犭
Strokes8
Pinyinhú
ToneTone 2
Frequency#2,516
Printable worksheet

How to write 狐, 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.

  1. 1
  2. 2
  3. 3
  4. 4
  5. 5
  6. 6
  7. 7
  8. 8

Meaning of 狐

Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.

húsecond tone (rising)
  1. fox

How 狐 is built

Phono-semantic (sound + meaning) character. Dog.

quǎndog+guāmelon

犭 gives the meaning and 瓜 hints at the sound.

Radical: 犭 (dog), shared by 88 characters on this site.

How to remember 狐

狐 combines the animal radical 犭, which hints at a dog-like creature, with 瓜 (guā, melon), which gives the sound. Picture a sly, dog-like fox sneaking into a melon patch to steal a melon.

On its own 狐 is rare in speech. People usually say 狐狸 (húli) for fox, and it often describes a crafty person. Example: 他是个老狐狸。(Tā shì gè lǎo húli.) He is a sly old fox.

Common mistake: Learners often confuse 狐 with 孤 (gū, lonely), which has the same 瓜 part but the child radical 子 instead of 犭. Also, in 狐狸 the second syllable is usually read in the neutral tone, as húli, not húlí.

Common words with 狐

Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.

WordPinyinMeaningLevel
狐狸húlifox; (fig.) sly or crafty person
狐猴húhóulemur
狐狸精húlijīngfox-spirit; vixen
老狐狸lǎohúli(fig.) old fox; a wily, shrewd person

狐 in example sentences

Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.

人rén们men必bì须xū用yòng狐hú狸lí来lái抓zhuā狐hú狸lí。
People must use foxes to catch foxes.
我wǒ们men设shè了le个gè陷xiàn阱jǐng来lái抓zhuā狐hú狸lí。
We set a trap to catch a fox.
狐hú狸lí躲duǒ在zài了le空kōng心xīn树shù里lǐ面miàn。
The fox hid in the hollow tree.
他tā们men利lì用yòng陷xiàn阱jǐng捕bǔ捉zhuō狐hú狸lí。
Using a trap, they caught the fox.
那nà只zhǐ狐hú狸lí杀shā了le一yī只zhī母mǔ鸡jī。
That fox must have killed the hen.

Questions about 狐

How many strokes are in 狐?

狐 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 狐 mean?

狐 (hú) means fox. A common word with it is 狐狸 (húli), meaning "fox; (fig.) sly or crafty person".

How do you pronounce 狐?

狐 is pronounced hú, in the second tone (rising).

What is the radical of 狐?

The radical of 狐 is 犭, which carries the idea of "dog". Dictionaries list 狐 under this radical.

What does 狐狸精 mean when people call a woman that?

Literally it is a fox spirit from folklore that takes the form of a beautiful woman. Calling a woman 狐狸精 (húlijīng) is an insult meaning a seductress who lures men away, often used about a mistress.

Is 狐 related to the hú in 狐猴 for lemur?

Yes, it is the same character. 狐猴 (húhóu) literally means fox monkey, named because a lemur's pointed face looks fox-like.