HanziGuru.鬍 · hú
鬍
hú[hu2]Tone 2

beard

HSK 5
View Simplified FormSwitch to Simplified
胡
Guru Deep Dive

English · beard

Cached lesson
1 / 1
Topology:Left-right
Strokes:9
Writing Balance Rule: The left component (月/ancient flesh) is narrower, while the right component (古) is wider and more structurally stable, maintaining a balanced left-right harmony.
Simplification Logic: In simplified Chinese, 胡 serves as the simplified form for 鬍 (beard/mustache), merging meanings for efficiency.
1. Meaning

beard, mustache, whiskers

recklessly, arbitrarily, foolishlynon-Han ethnic minority peoples of the north or west (historical)
NounNeutral#body parts#facial features#history
Sample Usage
  • 他留着一把大胡子。
    tā liúzhe yì bǎ dà húzi.
    He wears a big beard.
  • 胡思乱想
    hú sī luàn xiǎng
    to let one's imagination run wild (idiom)
2. Sound
/[xu³⁵]/Tone: 35
鬍
húhu2
++
´(35)
=hú
Initial Consonant
h
Type: Velar Fricative
Sounds like: h sound like in 'hat'
Unaspirated
Airflow Tactile Test: Gentle throat friction (like fogging glasses on a cold day).
Tongue & Mouth Position: The back of the tongue is lowered while air passes through the open glottis with slight friction.
Final Rhyme
u
Vowel Group: -u vowel group
Sounds like: -u rhymes with oo in food
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 a mid pitch and rises sharply to the top, exactly like asking 'Huh?' in surprise.
Sandhi: When followed by another Tone 2 syllable, it shifts slightly, though standard tone rules apply depending on adjacent words.
👂
Listening trap: Confusing the rising Tone 2 (hú) with Tone 4 (hù), which drops sharply downward.
👋
Physical Tone Gesture: Tone 2 rises like a question mark or a quick upward shrug of your shoulders.
3. Writing

Topology: Left-right · Strokes: 9 strokes

Writing Balance Rule: The left component (月/ancient flesh) is narrower, while the right component (古) is wider and more structurally stable, maintaining a balanced left-right harmony.

Simplification Logic: In simplified Chinese, 胡 serves as the simplified form for 鬍 (beard/mustache), merging meanings for efficiency.

4. Components

Radical 月 · Meat/Flesh Radical (when on the left, historically 肉) (body part, flesh)

Semantic Clue (形旁): 月 (indicates flesh/body part (hair/growth on the face))

Phonetic Clue (声旁): 古 (original sound: gǔ / hú phonetic cue)

The flesh radical on the left (月) combines with the ancient sound component (古) on the right to represent hair growing on ancient, weathered facial flesh—your beard!

  • ⺼ Flesh / body part
  • 古 Ancient / phonetic sound helper
5. History
Liushu category: Phono-semantic (形声)

Origin: Originally created as a borrowing character for northern nomadic tribes, it later became associated with facial hair (now written as 鬍 in traditional).

Semantic Evolution: Shifted from denoting northern tribes to representing chin hair or whiskers, and is widely used in compounds meaning 'reckless' or 'beard'.

  • The character 胡 originally referred to the dewlap under an animal's chin or to northern nomadic tribes before acquiring the beard meaning.
6. Sinosphere
🇻🇳
Sino-Vietnamese
hồ
Matches the Vietnamese hỏi or huyền depending on historical register, corresponding to a smooth rising contour.
🇯🇵
Kanji (Japanese)
On: コ (ko), ゴ (go) / Kun: e.g., in loanwords or historical names
🇰🇷
Hanja (Korean)
호
Sound Shift Bridge: Shared ancient Sinitic roots link the pronunciation 'hu' across East Asian borrowings.
7. Memory
Vivid Mnemonic Story

Imagine an ANCIENT (古) man with a magnificent FLESH-colored (月) BEARD (胡) that reaches down to his knees!

Phonetic Family (形声字家族)
湖
húlakeAdd water (氵) to make a lake where you grow your beard.
糊
húpaste / muddledAdd rice/grain (米) to make sticky paste.
蝴
húbutterflyAdd insect (虫) for a butterfly landing on your beard.
Lookalikes & Traps (形近字)
固(gù)
Has an enclosure (囗) instead of flesh (月), meaning solid/firm rather than beard.
8. Mastery
Active Recall Challenge
他留著密密麻麻的[___]。
Clue: hú zi
Common Learner Pitfall

Confusing the tone with Tone 4 (hù), or mixing up the phonetic family characters like 湖 (lake) and 糊 (paste).

Memory Prompts
Recognition: What does 胡 mean when combined with 子 (húzi)?
Production: How do you write the character for 'beard' (hú) using the flesh and ancient components?
Real-World Video Context

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

Search theme
Accent preference

Results are live YouTube search — accents and levels aren't verified.

鬍húbeard
Speed:
Searching YouTube for native pronunciation videos...
0 / 0
Watch on YouTubeMore Results on YouTube