挥 (huī): to wave, to brandish, to command
挥 (huī) is a Chinese character meaning “to wave.” Classified as HSK Level 5 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of 扌 (structural) and 军 (structural). It ranks #742 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).
Etymologically derived, 挥 to direct an army 军 by hand 扌. 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 wave
- to brandish
- to command
Etymology & Origin
ideographicTo direct an army 军 by hand 扌
Decomposition: ⿰扌军 (layout: left-right)
Stroke Order
Practice writing 挥 with real-time feedback — trace each stroke in the correct order and build muscle memory in the HanziFeed app.
Words & Compounds
HSK Vocabulary with 挥
Common Compounds
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 指挥官 | zhǐ huī guān | commander |
| 挥手 | huī shǒu | to wave (one's hand) |
| 指挥部 | zhǐ huī bù | headquarters |
| 挥舞 | huī wǔ | to brandish |
| 挥霍 | huī huò | to squander money |
| 挥动 | huī dòng | to wave sth |
| 挥洒 | huī sǎ | to sprinkle |
| 指挥家 | zhǐ huī jiā | (music) conductor |
| 挥发 | huī fā | to volatilize |
| 挥发性 | huī fā xìng | volatility |
| 挥金如土 | huī jīn rú tǔ | lit. to squander money like dirt (idiom) |
| 指挥棒 | zhǐ huī bàng | baton |
| 挥泪 | huī lèi | to shed tears |
| 挥汗如雨 | huī hàn rú yǔ | to drip with sweat |
| 借题发挥 | jiè tí fā huī | to use the current topic to put over one's own ideas |
挥 appears in 45 compound words: 60 as the first character, 13 as the last, and 27 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 挥 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.
Idioms & Chengyu (8)
to write or paint without constraint; to be skilful in writing, calligraphy, or painting
to linger and bother someone constantly, while being impossible to be got rid of
to write or paint without constraint; to be skilful in writing, calligraphy, or painting
to linger and bother someone constantly, while being impossible to be got rid of
Example Sentences
他向大家挥手告别，然后登上了火车。
Tā xiàng dàjiā huī shǒu gàobié, ránhòu dēng shàng le huǒchē.
He waved goodbye to everyone and then boarded the train.
中国35岁指挥家李疏瞳纽约车祸逝世 所在乐团以演奏中国...
zhōng guó 3 5 suì zhǐ huī jiā lǐ shū 瞳 niǔ yuē chē huò shì shì suǒ zài lè tuán yǐ yǎn zòu zhōng guó . . .
China's 35-year-old conductor Li Shutong died in a car accident in New York, and his orchestra played in China...
好消息!龙恩手肘伤势好转已开始挥棒 仍有望出战经典赛
hǎo xiāo xī ! lóng ēn shǒu 肘 shāng shì hǎo zhuǎn yǐ kāi shǐ huī bàng réng yǒu wàng chū zhàn jīng diǎn sài
Good news! Longen's elbow injury has improved and he has begun to swing the bat and is still expected to play in the classics
挑灯看剑丨用AI赋能指挥信息系统
tiāo dēng kàn jiàn 丨 yòng fù néng zhǐ huī xìn xī xì tǒng
Sword in Hand by Lamp Light丨Empowering Command Information Systems with AI
...表示,习近平对中国军队的清洗行动会削弱指挥能力和战备水平-FX168
. . . biǎo shì , xí jìn píng duì zhōng guó jūn duì de qīng xǐ háng dòng huì xiāo ruò zhǐ huī néng lì hé zhàn bèi shuǐ píng
... Xi Jinping's purge of the Chinese army will weaken command capabilities and combat readiness - FX168
考文垂:期待“为奥运喝彩”项目组持续发挥文化桥梁作用
kǎo wén chuí qī dài wéi ào yùn hē cǎi xiàng mù zǔ chí xù fā huī wén huà qiáo liáng zuò yòng
Coventry: We look forward to the continued role of the Cheers to the Olympics team in bridging cultures.
狮子听从驯兽师的指挥。
Shīzi tīngcóng xùn shòu shī de zhǐhuī.
The lion followed the trainer's commands.
她挥着手向他打招呼。
Tā huīzhe shǒu xiàng tā dǎ zhāohu.
She greeted him waving her hand.
他后悔自己的挥金如土。
Tā hòuhuǐ zìjǐ de huījīnrútǔ.
He regrets his having wasted his money.
汤姆最近在工作中发挥不太好。
Tāngmǔ zuì jìn zài gōngzuò zhōng fāhuī bùtàihǎo.
Tom has not been doing very well at work recently.
Character Family
Frequently Asked Questions
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Is 挥 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
Practice writing 挥 with real-time feedback
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