noun

Meanings

  1. 1 (classical) blessing; great good fortune from heaven

Examples

Qí hù yī hé?
Heaven's blessing — what could it be?

Tips

history
Not used independently in modern Chinese; it appears in classical odes and as an auspicious given-name character (as in the general 羊祜). The right side is the phonetic, shared with and .
register
Classical and onomastic only — confined to the 《诗经》 and personal names, not modern speech.

Components

radical
shì
altar; spirit; ritual
The altar radical is in left-side form. It marks as something from the spirits — a blessing granted by heaven.
phonetic
old; ancient
On the right, supplies the sound; its old reading gives the hù pronunciation, the same phonetic in and .

Stroke Order