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吼

Mandarin · pinyin hǒu

to roar
to howl
to shriek
roar or howl of an animal
bellow of rage

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吼: hǒu · roar, shout; bark, howl

Written characters and their own readings; the entry’s pronunciation is shown above.

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Mandarin tones

3 · hou3

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Read this spelling in Classical texts

Follow a written form into the eight pinned witnesses: Analects, Mencius, Laozi, Zhuangzi, Xunzi, Han Feizi, Sunzi and the Mao Shijing. A match is a place to investigate; it does not prove that a modern dictionary sense fits the passage.

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Rime Cantonese 粵拼

haau1 · hau1 · hau2 · hau3

Cantonese word readings for 吼. This lexicon supplies readings, not definitions.

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Wiktionary English definitions · Chinese section

Independent source senses for this spelling, with usage labels retained. Not matched to the pronunciation above.

character · Etymology 1

(of a large animal) to roar
(of people) to shout
(of inanimate objects such as cars) to squeal
(Hokkien, Puxian Min) to cry; to sob; to weep
a surname, Hou

character · Etymology 2

(Hong Kong, construction, informal) alternative form of 窿

Source page · dump 2026-09-02 · Contributors & history

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