怙 (hù): to rely on; to depend on

Meanings

1 to rely on; to depend on
2 (formal) one's father (the one a child relies on)

Characters

怙

hù

to rely on; (formal) father

Examples

他怙恶不悛。

Tā hù'èbùquān.

He persists in evil and refuses to repent.

无父何怙？

Wúfù hé hù?

Without a father, whom can a child rely on?

Tips

history

The line 无父何怙，无母何恃 from the 诗经 ('without a father, whom to rely on; without a mother, whom to depend on') is why 怙 can poetically mean 'father'. The common modern use is 怙恶不悛 ('to cling to evil and not repent').

Components

radical

忄 xīn

heart; mind

The heart radical 忄 (left-side form of 心) fits a word about emotional dependence, leaning on someone or something with the heart.

phonetic

古 gǔ

old; ancient

古 gives the sound (shifted from gǔ to hù); the same phonetic appears in 估 and 姑, and it carries no meaning here.

Stroke Order

怙 hù

Related Words

孩儿 háir #3,079

child (literary/dialectal) / my child

哄 hǒng HSK 7-9 #5,418

to coax; to cajole / to amuse (a child); to soothe / to deceive; to fool; to trick

孩子 háizi HSK 1 #116

child / children

蛋蛋 dàndàn #5,011

balls (slang) / testicles (colloquial) / nickname for a child

伯 bó #4,237

uncle (father's elder brother) / earl; count / senior; elder

大叔 dàshū #5,255

uncle (father's younger brother) / middle-aged man / mister

精灵 jīnglíng #3,614

elf; sprite / spirit; fairy / clever and quick-witted (of a child)

妇女 fùnǚ HSK 6 #3,510

woman; women (formal/collective)

拜访 bàifǎng HSK 5 #3,173

to pay a visit; to call on (someone) / to visit (formal; shows respect)

本人 běnrén HSK 5 #3,117

I; myself (formal) / oneself; the person himself/herself; in person