霍 meaning and stroke order
Quickly, suddenly; surname
How to write 霍, stroke by stroke
16 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 霍
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- (literary) suddenly
How 霍 is built
Ideographic (compound meaning) character. Birds 隹 caught in a sudden storm 雨.
Radical: 雨 (rain), shared by 42 characters on this site.
How to remember 霍
A bird 隹 (zhuī) sits under rain 雨 (yǔ). Picture birds caught in a sudden storm and scattering all at once, which gives the sense of something happening quickly and suddenly.
Today 霍 rarely appears alone with the meaning "suddenly". You mostly meet it in fixed words like 霍乱 (huòluàn, cholera) and 挥霍 (huīhuò, to squander), or as a surname. Example: 他把钱都挥霍光了。(Tā bǎ qián dōu huīhuò guāng le.) He squandered all his money.
Common mistake: Learners often confuse 霍 with 雀 (què, sparrow), since both contain 隹. Remember that 霍 has the rain radical 雨 on top, while 雀 has 小 on top. Also keep the fourth tone, huò, and not huó.
Common words with 霍
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| 霍乱 | huòluàn | cholera | HSK 7-9 |
| 挥霍 | huīhuò | to squander money; extravagant |
霍 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Characters that contain 霍
Learning 霍 makes these easier to recognize and write.
Questions about 霍
How many strokes are in 霍?
霍 is written with 16 strokes. The diagrams on this page number every stroke in the order it is written, with the new stroke shown in red.
What does 霍 mean?
霍 (huò) means quickly, suddenly; surname. A common word with it is 霍乱 (huòluàn), meaning "cholera".
How do you pronounce 霍?
霍 is pronounced huò, in the fourth tone (falling).
What is the radical of 霍?
The radical of 霍 is 雨, which carries the idea of "rain". Dictionaries list 霍 under this radical.
Is 霍 on the HSK exam?
Yes. 霍 is part of the HSK 7-9 character list in the HSK 3.0 standard.
Is 霍 a common Chinese surname?
Yes, 霍 (Huò) is a well-known surname. Famous examples include the Han dynasty general 霍去病 (Huò Qùbìng) and the martial artist 霍元甲 (Huò Yuánjiǎ).
What does 霍霍 mean?
霍霍 (huòhuò) is an onomatopoeic word for the sound of sharpening a knife, as in 磨刀霍霍 (mó dāo huòhuò). It can also describe something flashing quickly, like lightning.