HanziGuru.毫 · háo
毫
háo[hao2]Tone 2

hair, fine hair, milli-, least

HSK 4
Guru Deep Dive

English · hair, fine hair, milli-, least

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Topology:Top-bottom
Strokes:11
Writing Balance Rule: The upper part (高) should be compact, while the lower part (毛) expands slightly to give the character a stable base.
1. Meaning

fine hair, down, or hair-like brush

one thousandth (milli-)not in the least / even a little bit (used in negative constructions)dime / 0.1 yuan (colloquial currency unit)
Noun / Measure word / Bound morphemeNeutral#measurement#anatomy#quantities
Sample Usage
  • 毫不犹豫
    háo bù yóu yù
    without the slightest hesitation
  • 毫米
    háo mǐ
    millimeter
2. Sound
/[xɑʊ̯³⁵]/Tone: 35
毫
háohao2
++
´(35)
=háo
Initial Consonant
h
Type: Velar Fricative
Sounds like: h as in house
Unaspirated
Airflow Tactile Test: Gentle throat friction (like fogging glasses on a cold day).
Tongue & Mouth Position: Glottal fricative; tongue is flat and relaxed at the bottom of the mouth.
Final Rhyme
ao
Vowel Group: -a vowel group
Sounds like: -ao rhymes with cow
Mouth Shape Guide: Pronounce as standalone vowel 'ow'.
Common Learner Trap: Keep vowel quality steady across all 4 tone contours.
Tone
T2 (35)
2nd Tone (Mid-Rising)
Tone Pitch & Cadence: Tone 2 rises like asking a surprised question in English: 'What?'
Sandhi: When followed by another 3rd tone, it changes to a 2nd tone.
👂
Listening trap: Do not confuse the rising Tone 2 (háo) with Tone 4 (hào), which drops sharply and sounds angry or final.
👋
Physical Tone Gesture: Raise your hand upward and to the right like climbing a hill, matching the rising pitch.
3. Writing

Topology: Top-bottom · Strokes: 11 strokes

Writing Balance Rule: The upper part (高) should be compact, while the lower part (毛) expands slightly to give the character a stable base.

4. Components

Radical 毛 · Hair Radical (hair, fur, feather)

Semantic Clue (形旁): 毛 (indicates hair, fur, or fine things)

Phonetic Clue (声旁): 高 (original sound: gao -> hao (similar rhyme family))

A high (高) quality hair (毛) is as thin as a single fine strand.

  • 高 provides the upper portion and phonetic hint
  • 毛 provides the lower portion and the core meaning of hair
5. History
Liushu category: Phono-semantic (形声)

Origin: Originally combined the tall/high element (高) with hair/fur (毛) to represent extremely fine animal hair or down.

Semantic Evolution: From physical fine hair, it expanded metaphorically to mean a tiny fraction ('one thousandth') and then to general negation ('not in the least').

  • Because calligraphy brushes were made of fine animal hair, the character also came to be associated with writing brushes.
6. Sinosphere
🇻🇳
Sino-Vietnamese
hào
Similar smooth rising inflection.
🇯🇵
Kanji (Japanese)
On: コウ
🇰🇷
Hanja (Korean)
호
Sound Shift Bridge: The Mandarin 'háo' corresponds cognately with the Sino-Vietnamese 'hào' and Japanese On'yomi 'kō'.
7. Memory
Vivid Mnemonic Story

Imagine a tall (高) person with a single fine hair (毛) on their head, measuring down to the last millimeter.

Phonetic Family (形声字家族)
描
miáoto trace, to depictReplaces the top with hand (扌) for drawing/tracing lines.
瞄
miáoto aim atReplaces the top with eye (目) for aiming your sight.
Lookalikes & Traps (形近字)
高(gāo)
高 means tall and lacks the lower hair (毛) component.
8. Mastery
Active Recall Challenge
这件事情他[___]不知情。
Clue: háo
Common Learner Pitfall

Confusing it with 高 (gāo, tall) due to the shared top visual component.

Memory Prompts
Recognition: What does 毫 mean when combined with 米 (mǐ) to form 毫米?
Production: How do you write the character for 'fine hair / least / milli-' (háo)?
Real-World Video Context

Watch authentic native speakers pronounce and explain this word in real-world YouTube videos.

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毫háohair, fine hair, milli-, least
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