乎

hū
#458 most
frequent character
(classical particle similar to 於|于[yu2]) in

Character breakdown

Source: Make Me a Hanzi.

乎 was drawn as a branch blown by the wind, giving the old sense 'whistling from strong wind.' Later the word 'at' was borrowed for its sound, and then the question particle too. Both later uses come from sound, not from the branch picture.

Drawn as: branch blown by wind

乎 as a component in other characters

sound3 characters
呼烀轷
picture1 character
虖

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Grammar Points

HSK 3
Expressing "nearly" with "jihu"

Homophones

忽hū
to neglect, to overlook, to ignore
呼hū
to call, to cry, to shout

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