呼叫 (hū jiào) — to call out; to shout; to yell | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

Formal/literate verb for calling out to get someone's attention — louder and more emphatic than 喊, which is the everyday spoken equivalent. Common in announcements, emergencies, and tech contexts (呼叫转移 'call forwarding').

verb

to call outto shoutto yell

Examples

呼叫。
Tā zài jiē shàng dà shēng hū jiào péng you de míng zì.
He called out his friend's name loudly on the street.
，呼叫。
Fēi jī shàng chū xiàn jǐn jí qíng kuàng, chéng kè men lì kè hū jiào chéng wù yuán.
An emergency occurred on the plane, and the passengers immediately called the flight attendant.
呼叫，。
Tā hū jiào le jǐ shēng, dàn méi yǒu rén huí dá.
He called out several times, but no one answered.

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

联合liánhéCoordinate

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

呼 'call' and 叫 'shout' are parallel actions, giving 'call out' or 'yell.'

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.

口乎呼

Meaning part形符xíngfú

口口kǒumouth

Sound part声符shēngfú

乎

乎hū呼hū

Same sound today

呼 uses 口 (mouth) to show exhaling, calling, or shouting, and 乎 gives the sound.

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

口丩叫

Meaning part形符xíngfú

口口kǒumouth

Sound part声符shēngfú

丩

丩jiū叫jiào

The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

叫 shows a mouth 口 and a sound part 丩. The mouth fits the old sense of shouting.

Appears in

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