毫

háo
noun #15,712

Meanings

  1. 1 fine hair; writing brush
  2. 2 one thousandth; milli-
  3. 3 (not) at all; (not) in the slightest

Examples

HSK 5
Tā háobù-yóuyù de dāying le.
He agreed without any hesitation.
HSK 5
Yī háomǐ děngyú qiānfēnzhīyī mǐ.
One millimeter equals one thousandth of a meter.

Tips

usage
毫不 = not at all, 毫无 = completely without. Used for strong negation.

Components

radical
毛 máo
hair; fur (radical)
Bottom hair radical - the indexing radical. Pictures fine strands of fur. Anchors 毫 in the hair/fineness family: a 毫 is originally the tip of a fine hair, the unit of measure standing for the thinnest perceivable thing. Hence 毫米 millimetre, 毫无 not the slightest, and writing-brush 毛笔 contexts.
ideograph
亠 tóu
lid stroke
Top lid stroke - a small horizontal cap with a vertical above. Acts as a visual ceiling on the stack of components below, with no independent semantic load here. Common opening element in tall, narrow characters where it helps balance the composition.
semantic
口 kǒu
mouth (here semantic stack)
Mouth-square stacked below the lid - together 亠 + 口 forms the upper portion of 高 tall (also visible in 京, 亭). Contributes the sense of height/elevation: a tall watchtower silhouette. The 'tall' upper half balances against the fine-hair radical below.
semantic
冖 mì
cover radical
Cover/cap radical - a narrow horizontal hook that drapes over what lies below. Completes the upper compound (亠 + 口 + 冖 together echo the silhouette of a watchtower or tall structure). Here it tightens the visual stack before the final radical.

Stroke Order

毫 háo