háo
noun

Meanings

  1. 1 a moat; a city trench filled with water
  2. 2 name of a river in Anhui

Examples

HSK 7-9
Gǔ chéngqiáng wài yǒu yì dào shēn háo.
There was a deep moat outside the old city wall.
HSK 7-9
Zhuāngzǐ hé Huìzǐ yóu yú Háo liáng zhī shàng.
Zhuangzi and Huizi strolled on the bridge over the Hao River.

Tips

culture
is a water-filled moat (the dry-trench word is ). It is also the river in the famous 庄子 passage where, on the bridge over the Hao, he debates with Huizi whether fish are happy; 濠梁 ('Hao bridge') has since meant carefree philosophical leisure.

Components

radical
shuǐ
water
The water radical distinguishes this water-filled moat from its dry-trench twin (which takes the earth radical instead).
phonetic
háo
grand; heroic
supplies the sound háo exactly; it carries no meaning here, working only as the phonetic on the right.

Stroke Order

háo