吼
Character Story & Explanation
吼 appears frequently in modern Chinese media and speech — especially in expressions of strong emotion. It’s central in the idiom 狗急跳墙，人急吼天 (gǒu jí tiào qiáng, rén jí hǒu tiān), meaning 'a cornered dog leaps over walls; a desperate person roars at heaven', illustrating extreme frustration. It also appears in official reports describing crowd reactions (e.g., 群众怒吼, 'the crowd roared in anger') and sports commentary (球迷齐声怒吼, 'fans roared in unison').
The character is not pictographic but phono-semantic: 口 signals meaning (sound), while 孔 (kǒng) historically provided phonetic hint — though pronunciation diverged over time. Its earliest attested use is in Song dynasty texts, and it remains fully current today, commonly seen in social media posts expressing outrage or exhilaration (e.g., '我直接吼出来！' — 'I literally roared it out!').
Hi students! Let’s learn 吼 (hǒu), a vivid verb meaning 'to roar' — like a lion, thunder, or even an angry person. It’s written with just 7 strokes and belongs to the 口 (kǒu, 'mouth') radical, which tells us it’s related to vocal sounds. Even though it looks simple, its energy is powerful: every time you see 口 on the left and 孔 (kǒng, 'opening') on the right, remember it’s about forceful, loud sound bursting *from the mouth*.
This character isn’t just for animals — in modern Chinese, people 吼 when they’re frustrated, cheering wildly, or shouting instructions. Unlike softer verbs like 叫 (jiào, 'to call'), 吼 carries intensity and volume. It’s rarely used politely; think of it as the linguistic equivalent of raising your voice in emphasis or passion — not rudeness, but raw expressive power.
At HSK Level 6, 吼 appears in advanced vocabulary and idioms, so mastering it helps you understand emotional nuance in literature, news, and spoken dialogues. Don’t confuse it with similar-sounding words — its tone (third tone, hǒu) is crucial: say it like you’re imitating a quick, guttural growl — low, rising, then falling. Practice writing it slowly: start with the mouth radical 口, then add the right side 孔 stroke by stroke. Repetition builds muscle memory!
Example Sentences
Common Compounds
Similar Characters — Don't Mix These Up
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