胡

See also: 楜, 衚, and 鬍

胡	U+80E1, 胡 CJK UNIFIED IDEOGRAPH-80E1

← 胠
[U+80E0]

CJK Unified Ideographs

胢 →
[U+80E2]

Translingual

Stroke order

Han character

胡 (Kangxi radical 130, 肉+5, 9 strokes, cangjie input 十口月 (JRB), four-corner 4762₀, composition ⿰古月(GJKV) or ⿰古⺼(HT))

Derived characters

𪝍, 㗅, 𡎁, 媩, 𢰮, 湖, 猢, 楜, 煳, 瑚, 𥔓, 𧛞, 糊, 蝴, 䠒, 醐, 鍸, 䩴, 餬(𫗫), 鰗(𬶞), 𪍒(𱋟), 𪐉, 𪕱
𤭱, 𮍂, 鶘(鹕), 𪕮, 葫, 箶, 鬍, 𢉢, 㾰, 𡹹, 𧍵, 𨡷, 𩀉, 䭌, 鶦(𫛷), 衚, 𧛫, 𮠐

References

Kangxi Dictionary: page 979, character 12
Dai Kanwa Jiten: character 29400
Dae Jaweon: page 1431, character 4
Hanyu Da Zidian (first edition): volume 3, page 2056, character 8
Unihan data for U+80E1

Chinese

Glyph origin

Historical forms of the character 胡
Shuowen Jiezi (compiled in Han)	Liushutong (compiled in Ming)
Small seal script	Transcribed ancient scripts

Characters in the same phonetic series (古) (Zhengzhang, 2003)

	Old Chinese
箇	*kaːls
個	*kaːls
居	kɯ, kas
橭	kaː, kʰaː
嫴	*kaː
姑	*kaː
辜	*kaː
酤	kaː, kaːs, *ɡaːʔ
蛄	*kaː
鴣	*kaː
沽	kaː, kaːʔ, *kaːs
盬	kaː, kaːʔ
古	*kaːʔ
罟	*kaːʔ
估	*kaːʔ
鈷	*kaːʔ
詁	*kaːʔ
牯	*kaːʔ
故	*kaːs
固	*kaːs
稒	*kaːɡs
痼	*kaːɡs
錮	*kaːɡs
鯝	*kaːɡs
棝	*kaːɡs
凅	*kaːɡs
枯	*kʰaː
軲	*kʰaː
跍	*kʰaː
骷	*kʰaː
苦	kʰaːʔ, kʰaːs
葫	qʰaː, ɡaː
餬	*ɡaː
瑚	*ɡaː
湖	*ɡaː
鶘	*ɡaː
猢	*ɡaː
醐	*ɡaː
糊	*ɡaː
箶	*ɡaː
蝴	*ɡaː
胡	*ɡaː
瓳	*ɡaː
怙	*ɡaːʔ
祜	*ɡaːʔ
岵	*ɡaːʔ
婟	ɡaːʔ, ɡaːɡs
楛	*ɡaːʔ
据	*ka
裾	*ka
琚	*ka
椐	ka, kas, *kʰa
鶋	*ka
蜛	*ka
崌	*ka
涺	*ka
腒	ka, ɡa
鋸	*kas
倨	*kas
踞	*kas
涸	*ɡaːɡ

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *ɡaː) : phonetic 古 (OC *kaːʔ) + semantic ⺼.

Etymology 1

trad.		胡
simp. ^#		胡

"dewlap": A derivative is 鬍 (“beard”) (Schuessler, 2007).

"steppe nomads": Etymology unknown (Schuessler, 2007).

interrogative word ("what; why; how"): Cognate with 何 (OC *ɡaːl, “what; where; why; how”), Tibetan ག་ན (ga na, “where; how”), Tibetan ག་རུ (ga ru, “to where”) (Schuessler, 2007). See 何 (hé) for more.

Pronunciation

Mandarin
(Standard)
(Pinyin): hú (hu²)

(Zhuyin): ㄏㄨˊ

(Chengdu, Sichuanese Pinyin): fu²
Cantonese
(Guangzhou–Hong Kong, Jyutping): wu⁴

(Taishan, Wiktionary): vu³
Gan (Wiktionary): fu⁴
Hakka
(Sixian, PFS): fù

(Hailu, HRS): fu

(Meixian, Guangdong): fu²
Jin (Wiktionary): hu¹
Northern Min (KCR): ǔ
Eastern Min (BUC): hù
Puxian Min (Pouseng Ping'ing): hou²
Southern Min
(Hokkien, POJ): ô͘ / hô͘

(Teochew, Peng'im): hu⁵ / ou⁵
Wu (Shanghai, Wugniu): ⁶wu

Mandarin
- (Standard Chinese)⁺
  - Hanyu Pinyin: hú
  - Zhuyin: ㄏㄨˊ
  - Tongyong Pinyin: hú
  - Wade–Giles: hu²
  - Yale: hú
  - Gwoyeu Romatzyh: hwu
  - Palladius: ху (xu)
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /xu³⁵/
- (Chengdu)
  - Sichuanese Pinyin: fu²
  - Scuanxua Ladinxua Xin Wenz: fu
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /fu²¹/
Cantonese
- (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)
  - Jyutping: wu⁴
  - Yale: wùh
  - Cantonese Pinyin: wu⁴
  - Guangdong Romanization: wu⁴
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /wuː²¹/
- (Taishanese, Taicheng)
  - Wiktionary: vu³
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /vu²²/
Gan
- (Nanchang)
  - Wiktionary: fu⁴
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /fu³⁵/
Hakka
- (Sixian, incl. Miaoli and Neipu)
  - Pha̍k-fa-sṳ: fù
  - Hakka Romanization System: fu^ˇ
  - Hagfa Pinyim: fu²
  - Sinological IPA: /fu¹¹/
- (Hailu, incl. Zhudong)
  - Hakka Romanization System: fu
  - Sinological IPA: /fu⁵⁵/
- (Meixian)
  - Guangdong: fu²
  - Sinological IPA: /fu¹¹/
Jin
- (Taiyuan)⁺
  - Wiktionary: hu¹
  - Sinological IPA (old-style): /xu¹¹/
Northern Min
- (Jian'ou)
  - Kienning Colloquial Romanized: ǔ
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /u²¹/
Eastern Min
- (Fuzhou)
  - Bàng-uâ-cê: hù
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /hu⁵³/
Puxian Min
- (Putian, Xianyou)
  - Pouseng Ping'ing: hou²
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /hɔu¹³/
Southern Min
- (Hokkien)
  - Pe̍h-ōe-jī: ô͘ / hô͘
  - Tâi-lô: ôo / hôo
  - Phofsit Daibuun: oo, hoo
  - IPA (Xiamen): /ɔ²⁴/, /hɔ²⁴/
  - IPA (Quanzhou): /ɔ²⁴/, /hɔ²⁴/
  - IPA (Zhangzhou): /ɔ¹³/, /hɔ¹³/
  - IPA (Taipei): /ɔ²⁴/, /hɔ²⁴/
  - IPA (Kaohsiung): /ɔ²³/, /hɔ²³/

Note:

ô͘ - vernacular (incl. surname);
hô͘ - literary.

(Teochew)
- Peng'im: hu⁵ / ou⁵
- Pe̍h-ōe-jī-like: hû / ôu
- Sinological IPA ^(key): /hu⁵⁵/, /ou⁵⁵/

Note:

hu5 - literary;
ou5 - surname.

Wu
- (Northern: Shanghai)
  - Wugniu: ⁶wu
  - MiniDict: wu^去
  - Wiktionary Romanisation (Shanghai): ³hhu
  - Sinological IPA (Shanghai): /ɦu²³/

Middle Chinese: hu

Rime
Character	胡
Reading #	1/1
Initial (聲)	匣 (33)
Final (韻)	模 (23)
Tone (調)	Level (Ø)
Openness (開合)	Open
Division (等)	I
Fanqie	戸吳切
Baxter	hu
Reconstructions
Zhengzhang Shangfang	/ɦuo/
Pan Wuyun	/ɦuo/
Shao Rongfen	/ɣo/
Edwin Pulleyblank	/ɦɔ/
Li Rong	/ɣo/
Wang Li	/ɣu/
Bernhard Karlgren	/ɣuo/
Expected Mandarin Reflex	hú
Expected Cantonese Reflex	wu⁴

Old Chinese
(Baxter–Sagart): /*[ɡ]ˤa/

(Zhengzhang): /*ɡaː/

Baxter–Sagart system 1.1 (2014)
Character	胡
Reading #	1/1
Modern Beijing (Pinyin)	hú
Middle Chinese	‹ hu ›
Old Chinese	/*[ɡ]ˁa/
English	foreigners in the north
Notes for Old Chinese notations in the Baxter–Sagart system: * Parentheses "()" indicate uncertain presence; * Square brackets "[]" indicate uncertain identity, e.g. [t] as coda may in fact be -t or -p; Angle brackets "<>" indicate infix; * Hyphen "-" indicates morpheme boundary; * Period "." indicates syllable boundary.

Zhengzhang system (2003)
Character	胡
Reading #	1/1
No.	4255
Phonetic component	古
Rime group	魚
Rime subdivision	0
Corresponding MC rime	胡
Old Chinese	/*ɡaː/

Definitions

胡

(obsolete) wattle; dewlap (fleshy lobe hanging from the head or neck of animals)
- 狼跋其胡，載疐其尾。 [Pre-Classical Chinese, trad.]
  狼跋其胡，载疐其尾。 [Pre-Classical Chinese, simp.]
  From: The Classic of Poetry, c. 11^th – 7^th centuries BCE, translated based on James Legge's version
  Láng bá qí hú, zǎi zhì qí wěi. [Pinyin]
  The wolf springs forward on his dewlap, or trips back on his tail.
(obsolete) wattle-like object, such as pendent parts on implements
(literary) how; why; what
- 胡能有定？寧不我顧。 [Pre-Classical Chinese, trad.]
  胡能有定？宁不我顾。 [Pre-Classical Chinese, simp.]
  From: The Classic of Poetry, c. 11^th – 7^th centuries BCE, translated based on James Legge's version
  Hú néng yǒu dìng? Níng bù wǒ gù. [Pinyin]
  How can he get his mind settled? Would he then not regard me?
- 式微，式微！胡不歸？ [Pre-Classical Chinese, trad.]
  式微，式微！胡不归？ [Pre-Classical Chinese, simp.]
  From: The Classic of Poetry, c. 11^th – 7^th centuries BCE, translated based on James Legge's version
  Shìwēi, shìwēi! Hú bù guī? [Pinyin]
  Reduced! Reduced! Why not return?
- 然胡不嘗考之聖王之事？ [Classical Chinese, trad.]
  然胡不尝考之圣王之事？ [Classical Chinese, simp.]
  From: Mozi, c. 4^th century BCE
  Rán hú bù cháng kǎo zhī shèngwáng zhī shì? [Pinyin]
  Again, why not let us inquire into the deeds of the sage-kings?
(historical) barbarian; a generic term for any non-Han peoples who lived to the north and west of China's borders
胡人 ― húrén ― foreigner
- 胡之無弓車也，非無弓車也，夫人而能為弓車也。 [Classical Chinese, trad.]
  胡之无弓车也，非无弓车也，夫人而能为弓车也。 [Classical Chinese, simp.]
  From: Rites of Zhou, circa 3^rd century BCE
  Hú zhī wú gōngchē yě, fēi wú gōngchē yě, fú rén ér néng wéi gōngchē yě. [Pinyin]
  If one says the Hu / neighbouring peoples have no artificers who are specialised in making bows and carriages, it does not mean there are no bows and carriages; on the contrary, every workman is able to manufacture bows and carriages.
(historical) countries and peoples in the Western Regions, including Persia, Daqin, and in Pre-Tang texts, India
(by extension) introduced from the northern or western non-Han peoples or from abroad; non-Chinese; foreign; imported
胡桃 ― hútáo ― walnut

胡蘿蔔／胡萝卜 ― húluóbo ― carrot
Short for 胡琴 (húqín, “huqin; general term for two-stringed bowed instruments with origins in the western non-Han peoples”).
二胡 ― èrhú ― erhu

板胡 ― bǎnhú ― banhu
(historical) (～國) State of Hu in the Spring and Autumn Period in modern-day Anhui, conquered by the State of Chu in 496 BCE
(obsolete) black; dark-skinned
(in compounds) great; big; senior
胡蜂 ― húfēng ― wasp
outrageously; recklessly; wildly; foolishly
胡說／胡说 ― húshuō ― to talk nonsense

胡搞 ― húgǎo ― to mess around
a surname
胡錦濤／胡锦涛 ― Hú Jǐntāo ― Hu Jintao, General Secretary of the Communist Party of China from 2002 to 2012

Synonyms

(why):

Dialectal synonyms of 為什麼 (“why”) [map]

Variety	Location	Words edit
Classical Chinese		何為, 何以, 何, 何故, 緣何, 胡, 奚, 曷, 胡為
Formal (Written Standard Chinese)		為什麼, 為何, 因何, 何以
Northeastern Mandarin	Beijing	為什麼, 幹嗎, 幹什麼
	Taiwan	為什麼
	Harbin	為啥
	Malaysia	為什麼, 做什麼, 做麼
	Singapore	為什麼, 做什麼, 做麼
Jilu Mandarin	Tianjin	為嘛
Jilu Mandarin	Jinan	為麼兒, 為麼, 幹麼兒, 為什麼
Jiaoliao Mandarin	Yantai (Muping)	為麼, 為麼個
Central Plains Mandarin	Xi'an	為啥, 因啥
	Xining	為啥
	Xuzhou	為啥, 擁啥, 擁什麼
Lanyin Mandarin	Yinchuan	為啥
	Lanzhou	為啥
	Ürümqi	為啥
Southwestern Mandarin	Chengdu	為啥子, 做啥子
	Wuhan	做麼事, 為麼事
	Guiyang	為哪樣, 為些哪樣
	Guilin	為什麼
	Liuzhou	為什麼
	Xiangtan (Jiangnan Industries Group koine)	為什麼
Jianghuai Mandarin	Nanjing	為什麼
	Yangzhou	甚們事, 做事, 做啥, 為甚們 formal
	Hefei	怎搞, 怎搞的
Cantonese	Guangzhou	點解, 做乜, 做乜嘢, 為乜, 為乜為物, 做乜事幹, 因乜事幹, 因乜解究, 因乜緣故, 何解, 乜, 咩
	Hong Kong	點解, 做乜, 做乜嘢, 做咩, 為乜, 為咩, 做乜事幹, 因乜事幹, 因乜解究, 因咩解究, 因乜緣故, 何解, 乜, 咩
	Hong Kong (Kam Tin; Weitou)	做乜嘢
	Macau	為乜嘢
	Guangzhou (Panyu)	點解
	Guangzhou (Huashan, Huadu)	整乜嘢
	Guangzhou (Zengcheng)	做乜嘢
	Foshan	點解
	Foshan (Shatou, Nanhai)	點解
	Foshan (Shunde)	為乜嘢
	Foshan (Mingcheng, Gaoming)	因乜嘢, 點解
	Zhongshan (Shiqi)	為乜嘢
	Zhuhai (Qianshan, Xiangzhou)	為乜嘢
	Zhuhai (Shangheng, Doumen; Tanka)	點解
	Zhuhai (Doumen)	點解
	Jiangmen (Baisha)	點解
	Taishan	幾何, 幾解, 做乜, 為乜, 乜頭路
	Kaiping (Chikan)	幾解
	Enping (Niujiang)	做乜
	Dongguan	點解, 做乜嘢, 做乜, 為乜嘢
	Shenzhen (Shajing, Bao'an)	點解
	Shenzhen (Dapeng)	點解
	Yangjiang	為乜, 為乜事, 做乜, 做乜事, 做乜嘢
	Hepu (Lianzhou)	為物底
	Qinzhou	為乜嘢, 為乜
	Qinzhou (Xiniujiao)	為乜底
	Beihai	為乜嘢
	Beihai (Nankang)	做乜嘢
	Beihai (Yingpan)	為乜底
	Beihai (Qiaogang - Cô Tô)	做乜嘢, 為乜
	Beihai (Qiaogang - Cát Bà)	做乜嘢
	Fangchenggang (Fangcheng)	做乜嘢, 為乜
	Kuala Lumpur (Guangfu)	點解
	Singapore (Guangfu)	點解
	Ho Chi Minh City (Guangfu)	做乜嘢
	Móng Cái	點解, 為乜
	Yangon (Taishan)	幾解
Gan	Nanchang	為什哩
Gan	Pingxiang	為咋個, 為咋哩, 做咋個, 做咋哩, 何解
Hakka	Meixian	做麼個
	Huizhou (Huicheng; Bendihua)	做乜嘢, 做嘢
	Dongguan (Qingxi)	做麼個
	Shenzhen (Shatoujiao)	做麼個
	Zhongshan (Wuguishan)	仰解, 做乜嘢
	Zhongshan (Nanlang Heshui)	為乜嘢
	Guangzhou (Lütian, Conghua)	為麼個
	Miaoli (N. Sixian)	做麼個
	Pingtung (Neipu; S. Sixian)	做麼個
	Hsinchu County (Zhudong; Hailu)	做麼個
	Taichung (Dongshi; Dabu)	做麼個
	Hsinchu County (Qionglin; Raoping)	做麼個
	Yunlin (Lunbei; Zhao'an)	做麼個
	Hong Kong	做麼個
	Kuching (Hepo)	做乜個
Jin	Taiyuan	為甚, 因為甚, 幹什
Jin	Xinzhou	𠰻們
Northern Min	Jian'ou	為孰事, 做孰事
Eastern Min	Fuzhou	蔣其, 蔣講, 做什乇, 做什名, 幹乜勢, 傒勢
	Fuzhou (Changle)	傒勢
	Fuqing	介計
	Yongtai	蔣其
	Gutian	做什乇
	Fu'an	做乜乇
	Ningde	做乇
	Shouning	做呢乇
	Zhouning	做乜乇
	Fuding	做哪乇
	Matsu	為什乇, 蔣其, 蔣講, 做什乇, 傒勢
Southern Min	Xiamen	為什物, 按怎, 物代, 敢咧, 創什物
	Quanzhou	按怎, 物代
	Jinjiang	為啥物
	Zhangzhou	按怎
	Zhao'an	為甚物
	Dongshan	為甚物
	Taipei	為啥物, 是按怎
	Penang (Hokkien)	何物事, 做物事, 做物
	Singapore (Hokkien)	按怎
	Manila (Hokkien)	敢哪, 敢哪誌
	Chaozhou	做呢
	Shantou	做呢
	Shantou (Chaoyang)	做呢
	Singapore (Teochew)	做呢
	Leizhou	作乜, 因乜
	Wenchang	作乜, 因乜, 怎作
	Haikou	作乜, 作個乜, 作乜物, 因乜, 因個乜
	Singapore (Hainanese)	作乜
Zhongshan Min	Zhongshan (Longdu, Shaxi)	為乜嘢
Southern Pinghua	Nanning (Tingzi)	做門, 做哪門, 為哪門
Waxiang	Guzhang (Gaofeng)	為什個
Wu	Shanghai	啥體, 為啥, 做啥, 啥講究, 為啥體, 啥個講究, 啥道理, 為啥道理, 啥個路道, 啥個緣故
	Shanghai (Chongming)	為何, 做何
	Suzhou	為啥, 為點啥, 做啥, 啥體, 為啥體
	Danyang	為點高, 做點高
	Hangzhou	為啥
	Wenzhou	妝乜, 為何呢, 為乜事幹
	Jinhua	為淡事幹, 為待西
Xiang	Changsha	為麼子, 何解
	Xiangtan	奚解
	Loudi	嗎介
	Shuangfeng	為麼子, 做麼子

(barbarian): 番 (fān)

Descendants

→ English: Hu, Hoo, Wu, Woo, Oh

Compounds

Etymology 2

For pronunciation and definitions of 胡 – see 鬍 (“beard; moustache; whiskers”). (This character is the simplified form of 鬍).
Notes: Simplified Chinese is mainly used in Mainland China, Malaysia, and Singapore. Traditional Chinese is mainly used in Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan.

Etymology 3

For pronunciation and definitions of 胡 – see 衚. (This character is the simplified and variant traditional form of 衚).
Notes: Simplified Chinese is mainly used in Mainland China, Malaysia, and Singapore. Traditional Chinese is mainly used in Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan.

Etymology 4

For pronunciation and definitions of 胡 – see 葫 (“garlic”). (This character is the second-round simplified form of 葫).
Notes: Simplified Chinese is mainly used in Mainland China, Malaysia, and Singapore. Traditional Chinese is mainly used in Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan.

Etymology 5

For pronunciation and definitions of 胡 – see 猢. (This character is the second-round simplified form of 猢).
Notes: Simplified Chinese is mainly used in Mainland China, Malaysia, and Singapore. Traditional Chinese is mainly used in Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan.

Etymology 6

For pronunciation and definitions of 胡 – see 蝴 (“butterfly”). (This character is the second-round simplified form of 蝴).
Notes: Simplified Chinese is mainly used in Mainland China, Malaysia, and Singapore. Traditional Chinese is mainly used in Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan.

Etymology 7

For pronunciation and definitions of 胡 – see 糊 (“congee; rice gruel; porridge; to eat gruel to allay one's hunger; etc.”). (This character is the second-round simplified form of 糊).
Notes: Simplified Chinese is mainly used in Mainland China, Malaysia, and Singapore. Traditional Chinese is mainly used in Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan.

References

“胡”, in 漢語多功能字庫 (Multi-function Chinese Character Database)‎^[1], 香港中文大學 (the Chinese University of Hong Kong), 2014–

Japanese

Kanji

胡

(Jinmeiyō kanji)

This term needs a translation to English. Please help out and add a translation, then remove the text {{rfdef}}.

Readings

Go-on: ぐ (gu)、ご (go)
Kan-on: こ (ko)
Tō-on: う (u)
Kun: えびす (ebisu, 胡)、なんぞ (nanzo, 胡ぞ)

Compounds

Korean

Hanja

胡 • (ho) (hangeul 호, revised ho, McCune–Reischauer ho, Yale ho)

This term needs a translation to English. Please help out and add a translation, then remove the text {{rfdef}}.

Vietnamese

Han character

胡: Hán Nôm readings: hồ, hò, ha

chữ Hán form of Hồ (“a surname”).
胡春香 ― Hồ Xuân Hương