壶 (hú): pot, classifier for bottled liquid
壶 (hú) is a Chinese character meaning “pot.” Classified as HSK Level 6 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of 士 (structural), 冖 (structural) and 业 (structural). It ranks #2431 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).
Etymologically pictographic, 壶 a jar of wine. Its radical form 士 (scholar) appears in many related characters such as 声 (shēng, sound), 士 (shì, member of the senior ministerial class (old)), 壮 (zhuàng, Zhuang ethnic group of Guangxi, the PRC's second most numerous ethnic group).
Definitions
- pot
- classifier for bottled liquid
Etymology & Origin
pictographicA jar of wine
Decomposition: ⿱士⿱冖业 (layout: top-bottom)
Stroke Order
Practice writing 壶 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 |
|---|---|---|
| 水壶noun | shuǐ hú | kettle |
| 咖啡壶noun | kā fēi hú | coffee pot |
| 茶壶noun | chá hú | teapot |
| 便壶noun | biàn hú | bed urinal |
| 酒壶noun | jiǔ hú | wine pot |
| 夜壶noun | yè hú | chamber pot |
| 喷壶noun | pēn hú | spray bottle |
| 哪壶不开提哪壶phrase | nǎ hú bù kāi tí nǎ hú | lit. mention the pot that doesn't boil (idiom) |
| 开水壶 | kāi shuǐ hú | kettle |
| 电热壶 | diàn rè hú | electric kettle |
| 法压壶 | fǎ yā hú | French press |
| 水烟壶 | shuǐ yān hú | bong |
| 开壶 | kāi hú | to season a new teapot before first use |
| 冰壶秋月 | bīng hú qiū yuè | jade ice jug and autumn moon (idiom, from poem by Song writer Su Dongpo 蘇東坡|苏东坡) |
| 烧水壶noun | shāo shuǐ hú | kettle |
壶 appears in 37 compound words: 8 as the first character, 76 as the last, and 16 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 壶 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.
Idioms & Chengyu (4)
Showing 3 of 4 idioms containing 壶.
Example Sentences
壶字虽然难写，但意思很有趣。
hú zì suī rán nán xiě , dàn yì sī hěn yǒu qù .
The character for "pot" may be difficult to write, but its meaning is quite interesting.
紫砂壶包浆养成手册:原理、步骤与误区规避
zǐ shā hú bāo jiāng yǎng chéng shǒu cè : yuán lǐ , bù zhòu yǔ wù qū guī bì
A Guide to Developing Patina on Zisha Teapots: Principles, Steps, and Common Mistakes to Avoid
巴西圣保罗罗汉寺访茶:一壶铁观音 四海少林情
bā xī shèng bǎo luó luó hàn sì fǎng chá : yī hú tiě guàn yīn sì hǎi shǎo lín qíng
Visiting the Luohan Temple in São Paulo, Brazil: A pot of Tieguanyin Shaolin love all over the world
壶口瀑布冰凌消融气势磅礴
hú kǒu bào bù bīng líng xiāo róng qì shì bàng 礴
The ice melting of Hukou Waterfall is majestic
米兰冬奥|选手触壶作弊,场上飚起脏话,拒绝科技辅助..
mǐ lán dōng ào xuǎn shǒu chù hú zuò bì , chǎng shàng 飚 qǐ zāng huà , jù jué kē jì fǔ zhù . .
Milan Winter Olympics|Players cheated with a pot, swearing on the field, and refused to assist with technology:
冬奥会|冰壶男子循环赛:中国队不敌加拿大队
dōng ào huì bīng hú nán zǐ xún huán sài : zhōng guó duì bù dí jiā ná dà duì
Winter Olympics|Curling Men's Round-robin Tournament: The Chinese team lost to the Canadian team
你们有提供不同尺寸的咖啡壶吗？
Nǐmen yǒu tígōng bù tóng chǐcun de kāfēihú ma?
Do you offer coffee pots in different sizes?
你们也有贩售咖啡壶配件吗？
Nǐmen yě yǒu fànshòu kāfēihú pèijiàn ma?
Do you sell coffee pot accessories too?
鲍伯把这个壶装满了水。
Bào bó bǎ zhège hú zhuāngmǎn le shuǐ.
Bob filled the pot with water.
壶里面没有砂糖了。
Hú lǐmiàn méiyǒu shātáng le.
There is no sugar left in the pot.
Character Family
士 Radical Family — Characters sharing the scholar radical
Frequently Asked Questions
What does 壶 (hú) mean in Chinese?
How many strokes does 壶 have?
What is the radical of 壶?
What are the components of 壶?
What are common words containing 壶?
What characters sound the same as 壶 (hú)?
Is 壶 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
Practice writing 壶 with real-time feedback
Trace stroke sequences, hear spoken pronunciation, and build lasting retention with spaced repetition in the HanziFeed app.