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忽 — pronunciations, definitions, and tags
HanziPinyinEnglishTags
忽Hūsurname Hud, 8 strokes, radical 心, rank #15217, Hard
忽Hūto neglectd, 8 strokes, radical 心, rank #15217, Hard
忽Hūto overlookd, 8 strokes, radical 心, rank #15217, Hard
忽Hūto ignored, 8 strokes, radical 心, rank #15217, Hard
忽Hūsuddenlyd, 8 strokes, radical 心, rank #15217, Hard
忽Hūsuddenly, abruptly; to neglectd, 8 strokes, radical 心, rank #15217, Hard
Hū(Hu1) T1
  1. 1to neglect
  2. 2to overlook
Listen to the audio pronunciation 3 times to gain XP
March 24, 2026
忽Hū(Hu1)

The character 忽 (hū) conveys the idea of neglecting or overlooking something, often occurring suddenly or abruptly. It can describe an action taken without careful consideration, indicating a lack of attention or awareness. Common contexts include discussions about missed details or unexpected changes.

Strokes8Radical心Frequency#15217DifficultyHard
Cultural Note

In Chinese culture, the concept of 忽 often relates to mindfulness and the importance of being aware of one’s surroundings. Neglecting details can be considered a sign of disrespect, especially in formal settings.

Memory Tip

Imagine a person named Hu who suddenly forgets about an important meeting. The character 忽 resembles a person quickly turning away, symbolizing how easily one can overlook something important when distracted.

Meanings of 忽

Hū(Hu1)
1to neglect
2to overlook
Exercise 1 of 3

Listen & Choose the Meaning

Choose the correct answer:

About 忽

忽Simplified
8Strokes
心Radical
副词fùcíadverb (adv.)Part of Speech
#15217Frequency Rank

Podcast: 忽

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Podcast: 忽

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AI Study Notes for 忽

Quick Contrast

忽 (hū) vs 漏 (lòu) — use 忽 when emphasizing sudden neglect, while 漏 implies a missed detail or omission.

Memory Mnemonic

Imagine a person named Hu who suddenly forgets about an important meeting. The character 忽 resembles a person quickly turning away, symbolizing how easily one can overlook something important when distracted.

Usage Notes

Be careful not to confuse 忽 with similar-sounding words that convey different meanings. It is used in both formal and informal contexts, but is more common in everyday conversation. Common collocations include 忽视 (hū shì - to ignore) and 忽然 (hū rán - suddenly).

HSK Study Tips

Although this character is not part of the HSK curriculum, it is useful for students at HSK Level 4 and above as it relates to themes of attention and awareness. Students should focus on its application in phrases and compounds.

Cultural Note

In Chinese culture, the concept of 忽 often relates to mindfulness and the importance of being aware of one’s surroundings. Neglecting details can be considered a sign of disrespect, especially in formal settings.

Common Mistakes

Learners often confuse 忽 with 忽然 (hū rán), which means 'suddenly'—the former focuses on neglect or oversight. For instance, saying 忽然忽视 (hū rán hū shì) is incorrect; it's better to use 忽视 (hū shì) for 'to ignore'.

AI-enhanced 2026-03-24

Pronunciation of 忽

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Etymology of 忽

Formation Typepictophonetic
六书 ClassificationPhono-semantic (形声字)~80-90% of characters
Explanation

Phonosemantic compound. 心 represents the meaning and 勿 represents the sound.

Memory Hint

heart

Semantic (meaning)心
+
Phonetic (sound)勿
Learn more about Phono-semantic (形声字) characters
Exercise 1 of 1

Character Formation Type

What type of character formation is 忽?

Decomposition of 忽

IDS Structure⿱勿心
忽Full Character
=
勿wu4
top
心xin1
bottom
Exercise 1 of 2

Identify the Components

Which of these is a component of 忽?

Write 忽

忽

Practice writing 忽 stroke by stroke. Watch the animation to learn the stroke order, then try writing it yourself.

Write correctly 3 times to earn XP

Grammar Patterns of 忽

忽 functions as an adverb — it modifies a verb, adjective, or another adverb. In Chinese, adverbs sit BEFORE the verb they modify (我也去, 他常常迟到), never after it. It carries 6 related meanings, each with its own usage notes below. The example sentences below show it in action, with practice buttons (Listen, Practice Writing, Practice Speaking) on every line.

Related grammar lessons6
Exercise 1 of 4

Complete the Sentence

我们走着走着，____然下起雨来了。

We were walking along when it suddenly started raining.

Common Confusions with 忽

忽vs呼
hū

Same pronunciation but different meaning.

忽vs胡
hú

Similar sound and used as a surname.

Exercise 1 of 1

Spot the Difference

Which character means "to neglect"?

or

Example Sentences for 忽 (10)

Listen to all sentences once to receive XP
1
埋头工作的时候，你是否忽视了自己的婚姻？

mái tóu gōng zuò de shí hòu， ， nǐ shì fǒu hū shì le zì jǐ de hūn？

While slogging at work, have you neglected your marriage?
2
你忽视了你所承受的压力及它带给你的后果。

nǐ hū shì le nǐ suǒ chéng shòu de yā lì jí tā dài gěi nǐ de hòu guǒ。

You overlook the pressure you're under and what it does to you.
3
然后，他忽然露出笑容，说道：“我给你带了一样东西。”

rán hòu， ， tā hū rán lòu chū xiào， róng ，：“ shuō dào ：“ wǒ gěi nǐ dài le yī。”

Then, breaking into a smile, he said, "I brought you something."
4
看看这份失实的警方报告吧，它忽略或歪曲了关键的事实。

kàn kàn zhè fèn shī shí de jǐng fāng bào gào bā， ， tā hū lüè huò wāi qū le guān jiàn de shì。

Look at the false police reports that omitted or misstated crucial facts.
5
某厂家由于疏忽，制造并销售了一款刹车系统存在缺陷的汽车。

mǒu chǎng jiā yóu yú shū hū， ， zhì zào bìng xiāo shòu le yī kuǎn chà chē xì tǒng cún zài quē xiàn de qì。

A manufacturer negligently made and marketed a car with defective brakes.
6
双方一直在为风向飘忽不定而苦恼。

shuāng fāng yī zhí zài wéi fēng xiàng piāo hū bù dìng ér kǔ nǎo。

Both sides were troubled throughout by a capricious wind.
7
虐待儿童案件常常没人举报，或者为缺乏相关知识的公民所忽略。

nüè dài ér tóng àn jiàn cháng cháng méi rén jǔ bào， ， huò zhě wéi quē fá xiāng guān zhī shí de gōng mín suǒ hū。

Cases of child abuse often go unreported or ignored by uninformed citizens.
8
弥尔顿的那几行诗忽然在我脑中闪过。

mí ěr dùn de nà jī háng shī hū rán zài wǒ nǎo zhōng shǎn guò。

Those lines of Milton flashed into my mind.
9
一名办事员会感到如此受人忽视，令人觉得不可思议。

yī míng bàn shì yuán huì gǎn dào rú cǐ shòu rén hū shì， ， líng rén jué dé bù kě sī。

It was strange, how invisible a clerk could feel.
10
忽视疲劳感会打乱我们的生物钟。

hū shì pí láo gǎn huì dǎ luàn wǒ mén de shēng wù zhōng。

Ignoring feelings of tiredness knocks our body clocks out of kilter.

Cultural Notes for 忽

🏮Cultural insight

In Chinese culture, the concept of 忽 often relates to mindfulness and the importance of being aware of one’s surroundings. Neglecting details can be considered a sign of disrespect, especially in formal settings.

Word Family of 忽

Compounds5
惚hu1confused, absent-minded
唿hu1sad
淴
鍃
锪huo1a kind of tool
Words Containing This Character20
忽然hūránsuddenly
忽略hūèto neglect
忽视hūshìto neglect忽視
忽Hūto neglect
忽悠hūyouto rock
疏忽shūhuto neglect
玩忽职守to neglect one's duty玩忽職守
忽地suddenly
飘忽fleet飄忽
忽必烈Khubilai Khan (1215-1294), grandson of Genghis Khan 成吉思汗, first Yuan dynasty emperor, reigned 1260-1294
疏忽大意oversight
忽冷忽热now hot, now cold忽冷忽熱
忽而suddenly
忽忽in a flash
忽闪to glitter忽閃
倏忽(literary) suddenly
飘忽不定roving飄忽不定
恍忽absent-minded
忽忽悠悠careless
玩忽to neglect
Exercise 1 of 4

Compound Meaning

What does 惚 mean?

Frequently Asked Questions about 忽

You can say 忽视这个问题 (hū shì zhè ge wèn tí) which means 'to ignore this issue'.