忽 (hū) - Meaning, Stroke Order & Audio

忽

hū[hu1]Tone 1

suddenly, to neglect

HSK 2

Guru Deep Dive

English · suddenly, to neglect

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Topology:Left-right

Strokes:8

Writing Balance Rule: The left side (勹) acts as a protective wrapper curving down and right, while the right side (勿) nests snugly underneath its canopy, keeping the overall footprint compact and balanced.

1. Meaning

suddenly

to neglectto overlookto ignoresurname Hu

Adverb / VerbNeutral / Literary#adverb#action#state of mind

Sample Usage

天气忽冷忽热。
tiān qì hū lěng hū rè.
The weather suddenly turns cold and suddenly turns hot.
我们不能忽视这个问题。
wǒ men bù néng hū shì zhè gè wèn tí.
We cannot ignore or overlook this problem.

2. Sound

/[xu⁵⁵]/Tone: 55

忽

hūhu1

¯(55)

=hū

Initial Consonant

Type: Velar Fricative

Sounds like: h sounds like English h in 'hot'

Unaspirated

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

Tongue & Mouth Position: Tongue relaxed in the lower mouth, airflow brushed gently against the soft palate.

Final Rhyme

Vowel Group: -u vowel group

Sounds like: -u rhymes with oo in 'boot'

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

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

Tone

T1 (55)

5 → 5 (55)

1st Tone (High-Flat)

Tone Pitch & Cadence: Tone 1 is sung on a high, unchanging pitch, identical to a flat musical note in normal speech cadence.

👂

Listening trap: Confusing it with third tone hǔ (tiger) or fourth tone hù (door). Make sure to keep the pitch high and level without dipping or dropping.

👋

Physical Tone Gesture: A steady, flat horizontal line in the upper vocal register, like a high-pitched humming note.

3. Writing

Topology: Left-right · Strokes: 8 strokes

4. Components

Radical 勹 · Wrapping Radical (wrap, embrace)

Semantic Clue (形旁): 勿 (provides both the sound clue and the core conceptual sense of something fleeting, blurred, or passing quickly)

Phonetic Clue (声旁): 勿 (original sound: hū / wù)

The wrapping radical (勹) encloses a blurred or fleeting object (勿), representing how a sudden event wraps around you unexpectedly or how a detail gets wrapped up and neglected.

勹 wrap or enclose
勿 do not / blurred / flashing

Phonetic Family (形声字家族)

8· Phonetic Root: 勿 (wù)

5. History

Liushu category: Phono-semantic (形声)

Origin: Originally formed by combining the wrapping enclosure element with a phonetic and semantic indicator for a blurred, flashing shape, denoting quick motion or fleeting appearance.

Semantic Evolution: From the original sense of flashing by quickly (suddenly), it extended to mean moving too fast to catch, hence overlooking or neglecting details.

Often used in classical and modern Chinese literature to describe abrupt shifts in weather or mood.

6. Sinosphere

7. Memory

Vivid Mnemonic Story

A ninja WRAPPED (勹) in shadows flashes by so SUDDENLY (hū) that you completely IGNORE and NEGLECT him until he is gone.

Phonetic Family (形声字家族)

忽

hūsuddenly, neglectBase character with wrapping radical

惚

hūabsent-minded, tranceAdds the heart radical (忄) to show mental absence

唿

hūto whistle, breathe outAdds the mouth radical (口) for breathing or whistling sounds

Lookalikes & Traps (形近字)

勿(wù)

勿 lacks the outer wrapping hook/roof (勹) on the left side.

物(wù)

物 adds an ox/cow radical (牛) on the left, meaning 'thing' or 'object'.

8. Mastery

Active Recall Challenge

天气[___]冷[___]热，出门多带一件衣服。

Clue: hū ... hū ...

Common Learner Pitfall

Confusing the stroke order of the right component (勿) and mistaking it for unrelated characters like 鸟 or 易.

Memory Prompts

Recognition: What does 忽 mean when you encounter it in words like 忽然 (hūrán) or 忽视 (hūshì)?

Production: How do you write the character for 'suddenly' (hū) using the wrapping radical and the 'do not/flashing' element?

忽hūsuddenly, to neglect

Speed:

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