ǒu
adjective #4,232

Meanings

  1. 1 accidental; occasional
  2. 2 idol; image; puppet
  3. 3 even number; pair

Examples

HSK 1
Wǒ ǒu'ěr qù kàn diànyǐng.
I occasionally go to see movies.
HSK 4
Wǒ ǒurán yùdào tā.
I ran into him by chance.

Tips

usage
偶尔 = occasionally, 偶然 = by chance, 偶像 = idol.

Components

radical
rén
person (radical)
Left person radical - anchors in human-figure words. The original sense was a wooden or clay effigy of a person used in rituals or as a child's toy. From that came the senses 'idol, puppet, image,' then 'pair / match' (effigies came in pairs), then 'even (number)' and finally 'occasional, by chance' (chance pairing).
phonetic
monkey-like creature
Right supplies the sound - yú drifted to ǒu, a substantial vowel shift but the same Old Chinese rime group. was originally an animal pictograph (a long-tailed creature). Same phonetic family: (encounter), (dwell / imply), (foolish). All share the core rime.

Stroke Order

ǒu