呼 (hū) is a Chinese character meaning “to breathe out”. It is written from 口 (mouth) and 乎 (classical particle (marks a question or exclamation); here it carries the sound hū), side by side, and takes 8 strokes.
Build the character for “to breathe out; to call”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
口 + 乎
Left–right structure
- 口 mouth · kǒu meaning
- 乎 classical particle (marks a question or exclamation); here it carries the sound hū · hū sound
Structure from: 说文解字：呼，外息也。从口乎聲；现代字形拆分经 hanzi-writer-data 笔画核验（口3 + 乎5 = 8）
Memory aid
A mouth (口) pushing out the sound 乎 — hū. Both parts are really in this character: the mouth tells you it is about breath and voice, and 乎 tells you how to say it.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
8 strokes
In real words
- 呼吸hū xīto breathe; breathing呼 = hūHSK 5
- 呼吁hū yùto appeal; to call on呼 = hū
- 呜呼wū hūalas; alack (literary exclamation of grief)呼 = hū
- 呜呼哀哉wū hū āi zāialas! — and that was the end of it呼 = hū
- 呼唤hū huànto call out to; to call呼 = hū
- 呼啸hū xiàoto whistle; to howl (of wind, bullets, etc.)呼 = hū
Go deeper
All readings
to breathe out; to call
to breathe out; to exhale; to call out; to shout
把气从嘴里送出去；也指大声叫喊、招唤。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 呼吸hū xīto breathe; breathing呼 = hūHSK 5
- 呼吁hū yùto appeal; to call on呼 = hū
- 呜呼wū hūalas; alack (literary exclamation of grief)呼 = hū
- 呜呼哀哉wū hū āi zāialas! — and that was the end of it呼 = hū
- 呼唤hū huànto call out to; to call呼 = hū
- 呼啸hū xiàoto whistle; to howl (of wind, bullets, etc.)呼 = hū
Sound component
乎 family exact
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 呼 mean?
呼 (hū) means to breathe out; to exhale; to call out; to shout.
How do you pronounce 呼?
It is pronounced hū.
What parts is 呼 made of?
口 (mouth) and 乎 (classical particle (marks a question or exclamation); here it carries the sound hū), side by side. The recorded source is: 说文解字：呼，外息也。从口乎聲；现代字形拆分经 hanzi-writer-data 笔画核验（口3 + 乎5 = 8）. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 呼 have?
8. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 呼?
口. The radical is how the character is filed in a dictionary — it is not the whole story of how the character is built.
What words use 呼?
Common ones are 呼吸 and 呼吁. The reading of 呼 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.