侯 (hóu): surname Hou, nobleman, high official

侯 (hóu) is a Chinese character meaning “nobleman.” Outside the HSK 3.0 syllabus (CLEC 2022), it is composed of 亻 (structural) and 矦 (structural). It ranks #2827 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).

Etymologically pictographic, 侯 a person 亻 who might be a target 矦. Its radical form 亻 (person) appears in many related characters such as 人 (rén, person), 你 (nǐ, you), 他 (tā, he).

Spoken pronunciation

Radical: 亻 person9 strokesFrequency #2827亻 structural 矦 structural

Definitions

surname Hou
nobleman
high official

Etymology & Origin

侯

pictographicA person 亻 who might be a target 矦

Decomposition: ⿰亻矦 (layout: left-right)

Components:亻structural 矦structural

Stroke Order

Practice writing 侯 with real-time feedback — trace each stroke in the correct order and build muscle memory in the HanziFeed app.

Words & Compounds

Common Compounds

Word	Pinyin	Meaning
侯爵noun	hóu jué	marquis
萨达姆·侯赛因	sà dá mǔ hóu sài yīn	Saddam Hussein
侯赛因proper-noun	hóu sài yīn	Husain or Hussein (name)
诸侯noun	zhū hóu	dukes or princes who rule a part of the country under the emperor
王侯noun	wáng hóu	aristocracy
夏侯proper-noun	xià hóu	two-character surname Xiahou
侯门	hóu mén	noble house
王侯将相	wáng hóu jiàng xiàng	(lit.) kings, nobles, generals and ministers (idiom)
侯门似海	hóu mén sì hǎi	(lit.) the gate of a noble house is like the sea (idiom)
侯马市	hóu mǎ shì	Houma, a county-level city in Linfen City 臨汾市\|临汾市, Shanxi
侯景之乱	hóu jǐng zhī luàn	rebellion against Liang of the Southern Dynasties 南朝梁 in 548
胜者王侯败者寇	shèng zhě wáng hóu bài zhě kòu	the winners become princes and marquises
胜者王侯败者贼	shèng zhě wáng hóu bài zhě zéi	see 勝者王侯敗者寇\|胜者王侯败者寇
挟天子以令诸侯phrase	xié tiān zǐ yǐ lìng zhū hóu	(expr.) hold the feudal overlord and you control his vassals
武侯区	wǔ hóu qū	Wuhou, a district of Chengdu City 成都市, Sichuan

Total compounds

As first character

As last character

As middle character

侯 appears in 27 compound words: 26 as the first character, 37 as the last, and 37 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 侯 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.

宜yí

0.59921 co-occurrences

友yǒu

0.43922 co-occurrences

Idioms & Chengyu (3)

侯景之乱hóu jǐng zhī luàn

rebellion against Liang of the Southern Dynasties 南朝梁 in 548

phrase

王侯将相wáng hóu jiàng xiàng

(lit.) kings, nobles, generals and ministers (idiom); (fig.) people of the highest rank and status; the ruling elite

phrase

Showing 2 of 3 idioms containing 侯.

Example Sentences

AI-Generated

这位老侯虽然年过八旬，但身体依然硬朗。

zhè wèi lǎo Hóu suī rán nián guò bā xún , dàn shēn tǐ yī rán yìng lǎng .

Although Mr. Hou is over eighty, he is still in good health.

Vietnam+Feb 2026

国会代表和人民议会代表选举:宣光省委书记侯阿令谈祖国边疆“山河盛会”筹备工作

guó huì dài biǎo hé rén mín yì huì dài biǎo xuǎn jǔ : xuān guāng shěng wěi shū jì Hóu ā lìng tán zǔ guó biān jiāng shān hé shèng huì chóu bèi gōng zuò

Elections for National Assembly and People’s Council Representatives: Hou A-ling, Secretary of the Xuan Quang Provincial Party Committee, Discusses Preparations for the “Grand Festival of Mountains and Rivers” on the Nation’s Frontier

UdnnewsindexFeb 2026

侯友宜谈免费营养午餐、育儿减工时 “须审慎...

Hóu yǒu yí tán miǎn fèi yíng yǎng wǔ cān , yù ér jiǎn gōng shí xū shěn shèn . . .

Hou You-yi on free school lunches and reduced working hours for parents: "We must proceed with caution..."

UdnnewsindexFeb 2026

侯友宜行动治理聚焦三莺线噪音捷运局将采分...

Hóu yǒu yí háng dòng zhì lǐ jù jiāo sān yīng xiàn zào yīn jié yùn jú jiāng cǎi fēn . . .

Hou You-yi's Action Plan Targets Noise Along the Sanying Line; MRT Bureau to Implement...

中国新闻网_梳理天下新闻Feb 2026

东西问·马年说马丨赵艺博:海昏侯墓中的“马蹄金”缘何而来?

dōng xī wèn mǎ nián shuō mǎ 丨 zhào yì bó : hǎi hūn Hóu mù zhōng de mǎ 蹄 jīn yuán hé ér lái ?

"Questions About the East and West: Talking About Horses in the Year of the Horse" | Zhao Yibo: Where Did the "Horse-Hoof Gold" from the Tomb of the Marquis of Haihun Come From?

百度新闻Feb 2026

春节不忘训练!侯友宜化身“一日骑警”,体验马术训练..

chūn jié bù wàng xùn liàn ! Hóu yǒu yí huà shēn yī rì qí jǐng , tǐ yàn mǎ shù xùn liàn . .

Training Even During the Spring Festival! Hou Youyi Becomes a "One-Day Mounted Police Officer" to Experience Equestrian Training...

Character Family

亻 Radical Family — Characters sharing the person radical

们men 他tā 人rén 你nǐ 作zuò 但dàn 什shén 位wèi 做zuò 住zhù

Related Characters

人rén 你nǐ 他tā 们men 作zuò 做zuò 但dàn 住zhù 位wèi 什shén

Frequently Asked Questions

What does 侯 (hóu) mean in Chinese?

侯 (hóu) primarily means "nobleman." It is not part of the HSK 3.0 syllabus. It ranks #2827 in character frequency.

What's the difference between 侯 and 低?

侯 (hóu) and 低 (dī) are often confused. antonym. The key distinguishing feature: 侯 (high) vs 低 (low).

How many strokes does 侯 have?

侯 is written with 9 strokes. The correct stroke order matters for recognition and handwriting speed — practice with the animated guide above to build proper technique.

What is the radical of 侯?

The radical associated with 侯 is 亻 (person). This radical appears in many characters related to person.

What are the components of 侯?

侯 is composed of: 亻 (structural), 矦 (structural). Its IDS decomposition is ⿰亻矦 with a left-right layout. Understanding the components helps with both memorization and recognizing related characters.

What are common words containing 侯?

Common words with 侯 include: 侯爵 (hóu jué, "marquis"); 萨达姆·侯赛因 (sà dá mǔ hóu sài yīn, "Saddam Hussein"); 侯赛因 (hóu sài yīn, "Husain or Hussein (name)"); 诸侯 (zhū hóu, "dukes or princes who rule a part of the country under the emperor"); 王侯 (wáng hóu, "aristocracy"). There are over 27 compound words containing this character.

Is 侯 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?

Yes, 侯 is written the same way in both simplified and traditional Chinese.

Practice writing 侯 with real-time feedback

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