HanziGuru.葫 · hú
葫
hú[hu2]Tone 2

calabash / bottle gourd

Guru Deep Dive

English · calabash / bottle gourd

Cached lesson
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Topology:Top-bottom
Strokes:12
Writing Balance Rule: The top grass radical (艹) should be written wide and flat, while the bottom phonetic component (胡) must be balanced evenly underneath without crowding.
1. Meaning

calabash, bottle gourd

used in compound words referring to gourds
NounNeutralBound morpheme#plants#nature
Sample Usage
  • 葫芦
    hú lu
    calabash / bottle gourd
  • 大蒜葫芦
    dà suàn hú lu
    garlic bulb
2. Sound
/[xu³⁵]/Tone: 35
葫
húhu2
++
´(35)
=hú
Build the syllable
Step-by-step blending
hu
Tone mark placement: Tone mark sits on "u" per main-vowel priority (a > e > o; in -iu/-ui the mark takes the second vowel).
Initial Consonant
h
Type: Velar Fricative
Sounds like: h sound as in 'hat'
Unaspirated
Airflow Tactile Test: Gentle throat friction (like fogging glasses on a cold day).
Tongue & Mouth Position: Tongue is neutral; vocal cords produce a breathy friction.
Final Rhyme
u
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
T2 (35)
2nd Tone (Mid-Rising)
Tone Pitch & Cadence: Tone 2 starts at mid pitch and rises sharply to the top, exactly like a puzzled question in English.
👂
Listening trap: Do not confuse Tone 2 (rising 35) with Tone 4 (falling 51). Make sure the pitch goes up at the end.
👋
Physical Tone Gesture: Tone 2 rises like asking a question in English: 'Huh?' or 'What?'. Use an upward hand sweep.
3. Writing

Topology: Top-bottom · Strokes: 12 strokes

Writing Balance Rule: The top grass radical (艹) should be written wide and flat, while the bottom phonetic component (胡) must be balanced evenly underneath without crowding.

4. Components

Radical 艹 · Grass radical (Plants, vegetation, herbs)

Semantic Clue (形旁): 艹 (Indicates that this character relates to a plant or vegetation (the gourd vine/plant).)

Phonetic Clue (声旁): 胡 (original sound: hú)

The grass radical (艹) sits on top of the phonetic component 'hu' (胡), combining the plant category with the sound 'hú' to form the word for the gourd plant.

  • 艹 Grass/plant semantic classifier
  • 胡 Phonetic indicator providing the sound hú
5. History
Liushu category: Phono-semantic (形声)

Origin: Created as a phono-semantic compound where the grass radical (艹) classifies it as a plant, and 胡 (hú) provides the pronunciation.

Semantic Evolution: Originally coined to represent the calabash or bottle gourd plant, a vine-grown vegetable historically used for containers and musical instruments.

  • The bottle gourd has deep cultural symbolism in China representing fortune, prosperity, and warding off evil spirits.
6. Sinosphere
7. Memory
Vivid Mnemonic Story

Imagine a magical **grass** (艹) patch growing giant **gourds** that shout 'HU!' (hú) every time the wind blows through them.

Phonetic Family (形声字家族)
胡
húsurname Hu, non-Han people, reckless, outrageousPhonetic Core (声旁)
湖
húlake+ 氵 (water)
糊
húvariant of 糊[hu2]+ 米 (rice)
蝴
húbutterfly+ 虫 (insect)
Explore this family →
Lookalikes & Traps (形近字)
湖(hú)
湖 uses water (氵) on the left for lakes, whereas 葫 uses grass (艹) on top for gourd plants.
8. Mastery
Active Recall Challenge
这个[___]形状很奇特，像一个数字8。
Clue: hú
Common Learner Pitfall

Confusing the top grass radical (艹) with the water radical (氵) which leads to mixing up 葫 (gourd) and 湖 (lake).

Memory Prompts
Recognition: What plant does the character 葫 represent when paired with 芦?
Production: How do you write the character for 'gourd' (hú), which features a grass radical on top?
Real-World Video Context

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

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