verb #2,773

Meanings

  1. 1 to call; to shout; to cry out
  2. 2 to breathe out; to exhale

Examples

Tā dàshēng hūhǎn.
He shouted loudly.
Hūxī xīnxiān kōngqì.
Breathe in fresh air.
Dàjiā dōu zài hūyù hépíng.
Everyone is calling for peace.

Tips

usage
呼吸 (hūxī) = to breathe. 呼叫 (hūjiào) = to call out. 称呼 (chēnghu) = form of address.

Components

radical
kǒu
mouth
Left mouth radical — the indexing component. Calling, exhaling, and shouting all happen through the mouth, so the radical anchors the meaning. Standard for vocal verbs: (call), (shout), (sing), (blow).
phonetic
(classical particle); phonetic
Right supplies the sound exactly: hū. was originally an interjection particle used at the end of classical sentences, often with an exhaling tone — a faint semantic echo of the breath-out sense. Pure phonetic role; the breath imagery is incidental.

Stroke Order