护 (hù): to protect
护 (hù) is a Chinese character meaning “to protect.” Classified as HSK Level 3 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of 扌 (structural) and 户 (structural). It ranks #529 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).
Etymologically derived, 护 guarding 扌 a home 户; 户 also provides the pronunciation. Its radical form 扌 (hand) appears in many related characters such as 手 (shǒu, hand), 打 (dǎ, hit, make), 找 (zhǎo, to look for).
Definitions
- to protect
Etymology & Origin
ideographicGuarding 扌 a home 户; 户 also provides the pronunciation
Decomposition: ⿰扌户 (layout: left-right)
Stroke Order
Practice writing 护 with real-time feedback — trace each stroke in the correct order and build muscle memory in the HanziFeed app.
Words & Compounds
HSK Vocabulary with 护
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | HSK |
|---|---|---|---|
| 保护verb | bǎo hù | to protect | 4 |
| 护士noun | hù shi | nurse | 4 |
| 救护车noun | jiù hù chē | ambulance | 5 |
| 护照noun | hù zhào | passport | 3 |
| 维护verb | wéi hù | to defend | 6 |
| 爱护verb | ài hù | to cherish | 5 |
Common Compounds
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 辩护verb | biàn hù | to speak in defense of |
| 掩护verb | yǎn hù | to screen |
| 守护verb | shǒu hù | to guard |
| 护理verb | hù lǐ | to nurse |
| 护送verb | hù sòng | to escort |
| 防护verb | fáng hù | to defend |
| 监护权noun | jiān hù quán | custody (of a child) |
| 监护verb | jiān hù | to act as a guardian |
| 监护人noun | jiān hù rén | guardian |
| 看护verb | kān hù | to nurse |
| 护卫noun | hù wèi | to guard |
| 医护verb | yī hù | doctors and nurses |
| 庇护verb | bì hù | to shelter |
| 救护verb | jiù hù | to rescue |
| 庇护所noun | bì hù suǒ | shelter |
护 appears in 100 compound words: 47 as the first character, 30 as the last, and 23 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 护 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.
Idioms & Chengyu (7)
Showing 6 of 7 idioms containing 护.
Example Sentences
请佩戴好防护装备，确保工作安全。
Qǐng pèidài hǎo fánghù zhuāngbèi, quèbǎo gōngzuò ānquán.
Please wear protective equipment to ensure work safety.
肥城:外卖小哥的“暖心守护”升级了
féi chéng wài mài xiǎo gē de nuǎn xīn shǒu hù shēng jí le
Feicheng: takeaway brother's "warm heart guardian" upgraded
湖北文旅集团AI守岁人护新春 科技赋能年味浓
hú běi wén lǚ jí tuán shǒu suì rén hù xīn chūn kē jì fù néng nián wèi nóng
Hubei Culture and Tourism Group AI year-keeper to protect the New Year Technology empowers the flavor of the year
宁远县城管局:禁燃禁放不松懈 守护平安祥和年
nìng yuǎn xiàn chéng guǎn jú jīn rán jīn fàng bù sōng xiè shǒu hù píng ān xiáng hé nián
Ningyuan County Urban Management Bureau: ban on burning and discharge of no slack guarding the peace and tranquility of the year
守护万家灯火,90后山东小伙的萧山变电站除夕...
shǒu hù mò jiā dēng huǒ , hòu shān dōng xiǎo huǒ de xiāo shān biàn diàn zhàn chú xī . . .
Guarding the lights, 90 years after the Shandong boy's Xiaoshan substation New Year's Eve ...
新春走基层丨护送万千乡愁 奔赴团圆之路
xīn chūn zǒu jī céng 丨 hù sòng mò qiān xiāng chóu bēn fù tuán yuán zhī lù
New Year walk grassroots 丨 escort thousands of nostalgia to the reunion road
请让我看一下您的护照好吗？
Qǐng ràng wǒ kàn yīxià nín de hùzhào hǎo ma?
May I see your passport, please?
你为什么想成为护士呢？
Nǐ wèishénme xiǎng chéngwéi hùshi ne?
Why do you want to be a nurse?
我们怎么保护自己？
Wǒmen zěnme bǎohù zìjǐ?
How will we protect ourselves?
汤姆，你能帮我掩护吗？
Tāngmǔ, nǐ néng bāng wǒ yǎnhù ma?
Tom, will you cover for me?
Character Family
Frequently Asked Questions
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What characters sound the same as 护 (hù)?
Is 护 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
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