夥 (huǒ) - Meaning, Stroke Order & Audio

夥

huǒ[huo3]Tone 3

companion

HSK 4

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伙

Multiple Readings (多音字):

Guru Deep Dive

English · companion

Cached lesson

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Topology:Left-right

Strokes:6

Writing Balance Rule: The left radical (亻) takes up about one-third of the width, while the right component (火) occupies the remaining two-thirds, keeping both sides visually balanced.

Simplification Logic: Simplified from 夥 to 伙 by replacing the complex phonetic/semantic right component with 火 (fire), reducing complexity.

1. Meaning

companion, partner, or fellow

group or gangclassifier for groups of peopleto combine or join forces together

Noun / Classifier / VerbNeutral#society#people#cooperation

Sample Usage

他是我的好伙伴。
tā shì wǒ de hǎo huǒbàn.
He is my good partner.
大伙儿一起去吧。
dàhuǒr yìqǐ qù ba.
Let's all go together.

2. Sound

/[xwɔ²¹⁴]/Tone: 214

夥

huǒhuo3

ˇ(214)

=huǒ

Initial Consonant

Type: Velar Fricative

Sounds like: h sound with a slight labial glide (hw)

Unaspirated

Airflow Tactile Test: Gentle throat friction (like fogging glasses on a cold day).

Tongue & Mouth Position: Tongue is low and back in the oral cavity, lips rounded.

Final Rhyme

Vowel Group: -o vowel group

Sounds like: rhymes with 'or' or 'uo' in guo

Mouth Shape Guide: Pronounce as standalone vowel 'waw'.

Common Learner Trap: Keep vowel quality steady across all 4 tone contours.

Tone

T3 (214)

2 → 1 → 4 (214)

3rd Tone (Low-Dipping)

Tone Pitch & Cadence: Tone 3 dips low like a skeptical 'Really?', starting mid-high, dropping to the bottom, and rising up.

Sandhi: When followed by another 3rd tone syllable, huǒ changes to a 2nd tone (35).

👂

Listening trap: Do not confuse the retroflex 'h' quality with a guttural German 'ch'; keep it soft and breathy like 'wh'.

👋

Physical Tone Gesture: Trace a checkmark in the air: dip down from chest level to your lowest point, then sweep sharply upward.

3. Writing

Topology: Left-right · Strokes: 6 strokes

Writing Balance Rule: The left radical (亻) takes up about one-third of the width, while the right component (火) occupies the remaining two-thirds, keeping both sides visually balanced.

Simplification Logic: Simplified from 夥 to 伙 by replacing the complex phonetic/semantic right component with 火 (fire), reducing complexity.

4. Components

Radical 亻 · Person Radical (human, person)

Semantic Clue (形旁): 亻 (indicates human beings or people)

Phonetic Clue (声旁): 火 (original sound: huǒ)

A person (亻) standing around a warm fire (火) with companions, forming a tight-knit group.

亻 person
火 fire

Phonetic Family (形声字家族)

15· Phonetic Root: 果 (guǒ)

5. History

Liushu category: Phono-semantic (形声)

Origin: Originally written as 夥, combining the measure of a basket of grain with phonetic elements. The simplified form 伙 combines the person radical with 'fire' to depict a group gathered around a hearth.

Semantic Evolution: Shifted from denoting abundance and multitude to specifically referring to companions, partners, and groups of people.

In modern Mandarin, it is rarely used alone as an independent noun without suffixes like 伴 (bàn) or 者 (zhě) except in specific compounds like 大伙儿.

6. Sinosphere

7. Memory

Vivid Mnemonic Story

A PERSON (亻) sitting by the FIRE (火) with their trusted COMPANIONS telling stories.

Phonetic Family (形声字家族)

伙

huǒcompanion, partnerPerson by the fire

锾

huánancient coin unitMetal by the fire

Lookalikes & Traps (形近字)

秋(qiū)

秋 means autumn and uses grain (禾) on the left instead of the person radical (亻).

8. Mastery

Active Recall Challenge

他和幾個好[___]一起去爬山。

Clue: huǒ bàn

Common Learner Pitfall

Confusing the left component with other left-side radicals like 氵 (water) or 犭 (dog).

Memory Prompts

Recognition: What does 伙 mean when combined with 伴 in 伙伴?

Production: How do you write the character for 'companion/partner' using the person and fire radicals?

夥huǒcompanion

Speed:

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