忽

hū
adverb #15,217

Meanings

  1. 1 suddenly; unexpectedly
  2. 2 to neglect; to overlook

Examples

HSK 4
Hūrán xiàyǔ le.
It suddenly started raining.
HSK 5
Búyào hūshì zhège wèntí.
Don't overlook this problem.
HSK 6
Bié hūlüè le xìjié.
Don't neglect the details.

Tips

usage
忽 has two uses: 'suddenly' (忽然 suddenly, 忽而...忽而... now...now...) and 'to neglect' (忽视 to ignore, 忽略 to overlook, 疏忽 careless).

Components

radical
心 xīn
heart; mind
Bottom heart radical - the full underfoot form of 心, three dots curving along a hook (vs the left-side 忄 form). The indexing radical, files 忽 in the family of mental-state chars: 想 think, 念 miss, 感 feel, 愁 worry. Marks 忽 as a state of mind - a heart that flickers and forgets, the source of 'suddenly' and 'to overlook.'
phonetic
勿 wù
do not; banner-wisps
Top 勿 supplies the sound - wù shifting to hū with consonant change (well-attested w/h alternation in this Old Chinese phonetic series). 勿 itself depicts a banner with trailing streamers, hence its prohibitive 'don't!' sense (a flag waved in warning). Same phonetic family: 物 thing, 易 (faintly), 匆 hurriedly. Note 匆/忽 form a near-synonymous pair in 匆忽 'in a rush.'

Stroke Order

忽 hū