红 (hóng): red
红 (hóng) is a Chinese character meaning “red.” Classified as HSK Level 2 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of 纟 (semantic) and 工 (phonetic). It ranks #502 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).
Etymologically derived, 红 silk. Its radical form 纟 (silk) appears in many related characters such as 系 (xì, to connect), 累 (lěi, to accumulate), 绍 (shào, to continue).
Definitions
- red
Etymology & Origin
Stroke Order
Practice writing 红 with real-time feedback — trace each stroke in the correct order and build muscle memory in the HanziFeed app.
Words & Compounds
HSK Vocabulary with 红
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | HSK |
|---|---|---|---|
| 红色noun | hóng sè | red (color) | 2 |
| 西红柿noun | xī hóng shì | tomato | 4 |
| 红绿灯noun | hóng lǜ dēng | traffic light | 3 |
| 红茶noun | hóng chá | black tea | 2 |
| 红包noun | hóng bāo | money wrapped in red as a gift | 4 |
Common Compounds
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 粉红 | fěn hóng | pink |
| 红灯 | hóng dēng | red light |
| 红心 | hóng xīn | heart ♥ (in card games) |
| 红外 | hóng wài | infrared (ray) |
| 大红 | dà hóng | crimson |
| 红牛 | hóng niú | Red Bull (energy drink) |
| 分红 | fēn hóng | dividend |
| 红利 | hóng lì | bonus |
| 红花 | hóng huā | safflower (Carthamus tinctorius) |
| 红颜 | hóng yán | a beautiful woman |
| 红线 | hóng xiàn | red line |
| 红牌 | hóng pái | red card (sports) |
| 红军 | hóng jūn | Red Army (1928-1937), predecessor of the PLA |
| 红火 | hóng huǒ | prosperous |
| 红木 | hóng mù | red wood |
红 appears in 100 compound words: 83 as the first character, 16 as the last, and 1 in a middle position. Compound statistics computed from SUBTLEX-CH and HSK 3.0 vocabulary data.
Strongest Collocations
Characters that most frequently co-occur with 红 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.
Idioms & Chengyu (20)
lit. green willows and red flowers (idiom); fig. all the colors of spring
lit. green willows and red flowers (idiom); fig. all the colors of spring
Showing 12 of 20 idioms containing 红.
Example Sentences
红灯亮了，所有车辆都必须停下来等待。
Hóngdēng liàng le, suǒyǒu chēliàng dōu bìxū tíng xiàlái děngdài.
The red light is on; all vehicles must stop and wait.
【财圈识真假】“水记”赤马红羊年运数预测
cái juān shí zhēn jiǎ shuǐ jì chì mǎ hóng yáng nián yùn shǔ yù cè
【Financial Circle Knows True and False】"Water Record" Red Horse Red Sheep Annual Fortune Prediction
爱读书的工地大叔走红后第一个春节:继续种地、看书,..
ài dòu shū de gōng dì dà shū zǒu hóng hòu dì yī gè chūn jié : jì xù zhǒng dì , kàn shū , . .
The first Spring Festival after the uncle on the construction site who loves to read became popular: continue to farm and read,..
山东济南网红巨型空飘鳌鱼被大风吹走,现场工作人员尝....
shān dōng jì nán wǎng hóng jù xíng kōng piāo 鳌 yú bèi dà fēng chuī zǒu , xiàn chǎng gōng zuò rén yuán cháng . . . .
Shandong Jinan Internet celebrity giant floating fish was blown away by the strong wind, and the on-site staff tasted....
...一场“巷战”:AI挤进春节档,不止为了发红..
. . . yī chǎng xiàng zhàn jǐ jìn chūn jié dǎng , bù zhǐ wéi le fā hóng . .
... A "Lane Battle": AI is squeezing into the Chinese New Year, not only to send red...
点亮中国红!英国地标伦敦眼披上中国春节装扮
diǎn liàng zhōng guó hóng ! yīng guó dì biāo lún dūn yǎn pī shǎng zhōng guó chūn jié zhuāng bàn
Light Up China Red! London Eye Dons Chinese New Year Decorations
为什么你把长凳漆成红色了？
Wèishénme nǐ bǎ chángdèng qī chéng hóngsè le?
Why did you paint the bench red?
你要喝什么茶？泡壶柠檬红茶好吧？
Nǐ yào hē shénme chá? pāo hú níngméng hóngchá hǎo ba?
What tea do you drink? Is lemon tea okay?
什么水果是红色的？
Shénme shuǐguǒ shì hóngsè de?
What fruit is red?
你有没有红色的铅笔？
Nǐ yǒuméiyǒu hóngsè de qiānbǐ?
Do you have a red pencil?
Character Family
纟 Radical Family — Characters sharing the silk radical
Homophones — Characters pronounced hóng
Frequently Asked Questions
What does 红 (hóng) mean in Chinese?
What's the difference between 红 and 江?
How many strokes does 红 have?
What is the radical of 红?
What are the components of 红?
What are common words containing 红?
What characters sound the same as 红 (hóng)?
Is 红 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
Practice writing 红 with real-time feedback
Trace stroke sequences, hear native pronunciation, and build lasting retention with spaced repetition in the HanziFeed app.