霍

huò
noun #6,040

Meanings

  1. 1 a surname (Huo)
  2. 2 quickly; suddenly

Examples

HSK 2
Tā xìng Huò.
His surname is Huo.
HSK 6
霍去病是汉代著名的将军。
Huò Qùbìng shì Hàndài zhùmíng de jiāngjūn.
Huo Qubing was a famous general of the Han dynasty.

Tips

culture
霍去病 was a legendary young general of the Western Han dynasty who fought against the Xiongnu.

Components

radical
雨 yǔ
rain
Top indexing radical 雨 (rain) - pictographic, four drops falling under a sky-line. Sets the weather/sudden-natural-event family: 雪 (snow), 雷 (thunder), 雾 (fog). In 霍 it pictures a sudden downpour from which the bird beneath bursts away - hence the 'swiftly, abruptly' meaning.
semantic
隹 zhuī
short-tailed bird
Bottom 隹 (short-tailed bird). Combines with 雨 above into a compound ideograph: a bird flushed by sudden rain takes off in a flurry - that is the 'quickly, suddenly' sense of 霍. Also a famous surname: 霍去病, 霍金 (Hawking). Same 隹 in 推, 谁, 集.

Stroke Order

霍 huò