狐 (hú) is a Chinese character meaning “fox”. It is written from 犭 (dog / beast radical (side form of 犬)) and 瓜 (melon; gourd (a vine with fruit hanging from it)), side by side, and takes 8 strokes.
Build the character for “fox”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
犭 + 瓜
Left–right structure
- 犭 dog / beast radical (side form of 犬) · quǎn meaning
- 瓜 melon; gourd (a vine with fruit hanging from it) · guā sound
Structure from: 说文解字: 狐，䄏獸也。从犬瓜聲（现代字形分作 ⿰犭瓜，笔画分组据 hanzi-writer-data 3+5=8）
Memory aid
The beast radical (犭) crouching next to a melon (瓜): a fox slipping into the melon patch after dark. Both parts are really written in this character.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
8 strokes
In real words
- 狐狸hú lífox狐 = húspoken ashú li
Go deeper
All readings
fox
fox
狐狸，一种嘴尖、耳朵直立、尾巴长而蓬松的野兽。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 狐狸hú lífox狐 = húspoken ashú li
Sound component
瓜 family diverged
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 狐 mean?
狐 (hú) means fox.
How do you pronounce 狐?
It is pronounced hú.
What parts is 狐 made of?
犭 (dog / beast radical (side form of 犬)) and 瓜 (melon; gourd (a vine with fruit hanging from it)), side by side. The recorded source is: 说文解字: 狐，䄏獸也。从犬瓜聲（现代字形分作 ⿰犭瓜，笔画分组据 hanzi-writer-data 3+5=8）. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 狐 have?
8. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 狐?
犬. 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 狐?
Common ones are 狐狸. The reading of 狐 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.