忽忽 (hū hū) — (literary) swiftly, fleetingly; (literary) restless, agitated, ill at ease

Definition

忽忽 is a literary bound form meaning 'swiftly, fleetingly' (time passing) or 'restless, ill at ease' (mood). Only appears in set phrases like 时光忽忽 and 忽忽不乐, never as a standalone word.

bound form
(literary) swiftlyfleetingly(literary) restlessagitatedill at ease
Easily confused

Examples

  • 忽忽，。
    Shí guāng hū hū, zhuǎn yǎn yòu shì yì nián.
    Time flies — in the blink of an eye another year has passed.
  • 忽忽，。
    Tā zuì jìn xīn qíng hū hū, zǒng shì zuò lì bù ān.
    He's been restless lately, always fidgeting.
  • ，忽忽，。
    Lí jiā zhī hòu, tā hū hū bú lè, zhōng rì chén mò.
    After leaving home, he was downcast and silent all day.

Origin

Reduplicated word
构词法gòucífǎ
重叠chóngdiéReduplication

A syllable said twice — for affection, for softness, or simply because that is how the word is said.

忽hūswift/restless
忽hūswift/restless

The swift sense of 忽 is doubled to convey fleeting or restless feeling.

Characters in this word

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
心心xīnheart
Sound part声符shēngfú
勿
勿wù忽hū
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

忽 combines 心, meaning heart, and 勿, used for its sound.

Open 忽 →

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
心心xīnheart
Sound part声符shēngfú
勿
勿wù忽hū
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

忽 combines 心, meaning heart, and 勿, used for its sound.

Open 忽 →

Browse more HSK 7-9 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.