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斛

hú
noun

Meanings

  1. 1 an ancient measuring vessel for grain (classical)
  2. 2 a unit of dry volume, ten dou, later five (classical)

Examples

HSK 7-9
古代斛是量粮食的量器，十斗为一斛。
Gǔdài hú shì liáng liángshi de liángqì, shí dǒu wéi yì hú.
In ancient times the hu was a grain-measuring vessel: ten dou made one hu.

Tips

history
斛 is not used in modern measurement. It was a grain vessel and dry-volume unit equal to ten 斗 (changed to five in the late Southern Song); it now appears only in classical and historical texts.
register
Archaic and historical; modern volume is measured in 升 (litres), not 斛.

Components

radical
斗 dǒu
a peck; ladle measure
斗 (a dry-measure ladle) is the meaning radical, since a 斛 is defined as a multiple of 斗.
phonetic
角 jiǎo
horn
角 supplies the sound; the reading has drifted from 角 to 斛. An animal horn was an early measuring scoop, so it carries a faint semantic echo too.

Stroke Order

斛 hú