葫 (hú): used in 葫蘆|葫芦
葫 (hú) is a Chinese character meaning “used in 葫蘆|葫芦.” Outside the HSK 3.0 syllabus (CLEC 2022), it is composed of 艹 (semantic) and 胡 (phonetic). It ranks #3451 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).
Etymologically derived, 葫 plant. Its radical form 艹 (grass) appears in many related characters such as 蒸 (zhēng, to steam), 草 (cǎo, grass), 花 (huā, flower).
Definitions
- used in 葫蘆|葫芦
Etymology & Origin
Stroke Order
Practice writing 葫 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 |
|---|---|---|
| 葫芦noun | hú lu | calabash or bottle gourd (Lagenaria siceraria) |
| 西葫芦noun | xī hú lu | zucchini |
| 照葫芦画瓢phrase | zhào hú lu huà piáo | lit. to draw a dipper with a gourd as a model (idiom) |
| 葫芦巴 | hú lú bā | fenugreek |
| 冰糖葫芦noun | bīng táng hú lu | sugar-coated Chinese hawthorn or other fruit on a bamboo skewer |
| 糖葫芦noun | táng hú lu | sugar-coated Chinese hawthorn or other fruit on a bamboo skewer |
| 葫芦里卖的是什么药 | hú lu lǐ mài de shì shén me yào | what has (he) got up (his) sleeve? |
| 宝葫芦的秘密 | bǎo hú lu de mì mì | Secret of the Magic Gourd (1958), prize-winning children's fairy tale by Zhang Tianyi 張天翼|张天翼 |
| 起重葫芦 | qǐ chóng hú lu | hoist pulley |
| 气动葫芦 | qì dòng hú lu | pneumatic hoist pulley |
| 电动葫芦 | diàn dòng hú lu | electric chain pulley block |
| 按下葫芦浮起瓢phrase | àn xià hú lú fú qǐ piáo | solve one problem only to find another cropping up |
| 依样画葫芦phrase | yī yàng huà hú lu | lit. to draw a gourd from the model (idiom) |
| 手拉葫芦 | shǒu lā hú lu | hand chain pulley block |
| 手板葫芦 | shǒu bǎn hú lu | lever pulley block |
葫 appears in 25 compound words: 24 as the first character, 0 as the last, and 76 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 葫 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.
Idioms & Chengyu (1)
Example Sentences
天津葫芦社相声以传统曲艺的新派表达受到年轻观众关注。
tiān jīn hú lú shè xiāng shēng yǐ chuán tǒng qū yì de xīn pài biǎo dá shòu dào nián qīng guān zhòng guān zhù .
Tianjin Hulushu Cross-Talk has attracted the attention of young audiences with its modern take on traditional folk art.
中新网评：“葫芦娃爷爷”的美好生活不该变成流量素材
zhōng xīn wǎng píng : hú lú wá yé yé de měi hǎo shēng huó bù gāi biàn chéng liú liàng sù cái
China News Network Editorial: “The Grandfather of the Gourd Boys” Shouldn’t Be Turned Into Clickbait
展厅内，观众在一件件精美的葫芦作品前驻足端详。
zhǎn tīng nèi , guān zhòng zài yī jiàn jiàn jīng měi de hú lú zuò pǐn qián zhù zú duān xiáng .
Inside the exhibition hall, visitors paused to admire the exquisite gourd artworks one by one.
葫芦谐音“福禄”，天然契合八仙文化内涵，是八仙题材创作的特色载体。
hú lú xié yīn fú lù , tiān rán qì hé bā xiān wén huà nèi hán , shì bā xiān tí cái chuàng zuò de tè sè zài tǐ .
The gourd is a homophone for "fortune and prosperity," making it a natural fit for the cultural essence of the Eight Immortals and a distinctive medium for artistic creations inspired by this theme.
如果不补上这块短板，无屏穿戴设备就会变成一个只会拼命记录、却不会说话的“闷葫芦”。
rú guǒ bù bǔ shàng zhè kuài duǎn bǎn , wú píng chuān dài shè bèi jiù huì biàn chéng yī gè zhī huì pīn mìng jì lù , què bù huì shuō huà de mēn hú lú .
If this shortcoming isn’t addressed, screenless wearable devices will become “silent devices” that only frantically record data but can’t communicate.
Character Family
Frequently Asked Questions
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What characters sound the same as 葫 (hú)?
Is 葫 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
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