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胡 (hú) — surname Hu; (historical) non-Han peoples from the north and west of China

Definition

In modern Chinese, 胡 is usually a surname. Historically it also referred to non-Han peoples from the north and west, used today mainly in compounds like 胡人.

noun
surname Hu(historical) non-Han peoples from the north and west of China

Examples

  • 胡。
    hú Lǎo shī jiào wǒ men zhōng guó lì shǐ.
    Teacher Hu teaches us Chinese history.
  • ，胡。
    Táng dài shí, běi fāng hú rén jīng cháng hé zhōng yuán mào yì.
    During the Tang dynasty, non-Han peoples from the north often traded with the Central Plains.
  • 胡。
    hú Rén de wén huà duì zhōng yuán yǒu shēn yuǎn yǐng xiǎng.
    The culture of the non-Han peoples had a profound influence on the Central Plains.

Origin

Sound + meaning
六书liùshū
形声xíngshēng

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
⺼Written in full as肉ròumeat
Sound part声符shēngfú
古
古gǔ胡hú
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

胡 combines 古, which points to its sound, with ⺼ (肉), meaning meat or flesh.

Appears in
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