Meaning of 招呼
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- to call out to
- to greet
- to say hello to
- to inform
- to take care of
- to take care that one does not
How to use 招呼
The most common pattern is 打招呼 (dǎ zhāohu), to say hello or greet someone. 招呼 can also mean to tell someone something or to look after guests. Example: 我跟老师打了个招呼。(Wǒ gēn lǎoshī dǎ le ge zhāohu.) I said hello to the teacher.
招 (zhāo) has the hand radical 扌, like a hand waving someone over, as in 招手 (zhāoshǒu). 呼 (hū) has the mouth radical 口 and means to call out, as in 呼吸 (hūxī). Wave your hand and call out, and you are greeting someone: 招呼.
Common mistake: Learners often say 招呼老师 when they mean a simple hello. The natural phrase is 跟老师打招呼 (gēn lǎoshī dǎ zhāohu), using 跟 or 和 before the person. Also, 呼 is usually read in the neutral tone here: zhāohu, not zhāohū.
招呼 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Stroke order for each character
Open a character for its meaning, components and more words.
招 zhāo · to recruit · 8 strokes
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
- 7
- 8
呼 hū · to breathe · 8 strokes
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
- 7
- 8
Related words
Words that share a character with 招呼.
| 呼吸 | hūxī | to breathe |
| 招手 | zhāoshǒu | to wave; to beckon |
| 招生 | zhāoshēng | to enroll new students; to get students |
| 招聘 | zhāopìn | to invite applications for a job; to recruit |
| 称呼 | chēnghu | to call; to address as; form of address; appellation |
| 招待 | zhāodài | to hold a reception; to offer hospitality; to entertain (guests); to serve (customers) |
| 打招呼 | dǎ zhāohu | to greet sb by word or action; to give prior notice |
| 欢呼 | huānhū | to cheer for; to acclaim |
| 呼唤 | hūhuàn | to call out (a name etc); to shout |
| 呼吁 | hūyù | to call on (sb to do sth); to appeal (to) |
| 招募 | zhāomù | to recruit; to enlist |
| 招牌 | zhāopai | signboard; shop sign |
Questions about 招呼
What does 招呼 mean?
招呼 (zhāohu) means "to call out to; to greet" and is used as a verb.
How do you write 招呼?
招呼 is made of 2 characters: 招 (8 strokes), 呼 (8 strokes). That is 16 strokes in total.
Is 招呼 an HSK word?
Yes. 招呼 is on the HSK 4 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
What is the difference between 招呼 and 招待?
招待 (zhāodài) means to formally host or entertain guests or serve customers. 招呼 is more casual. It can mean greeting someone or looking after them, as in 招呼客人 (zhāohu kèrén), to attend to the guests.
What does 打个招呼 mean besides saying hello?
It can also mean to give someone a heads-up or let them know in advance. For example, 走之前跟我打个招呼 (zǒu zhīqián gēn wǒ dǎ ge zhāohu) means let me know before you leave.