Where 候 comes from
person
- Meaning part
- 亻 (“person”)
- Sound part
- 矦 (“target in archery”)
How to write 候 (hòu, “to wait”)
候 (hòu), an HSK 1 character, means “to wait”, “to inquire after” and “to watch”. It pairs a meaning part, 亻 (“person”), with a sound part, 矦 (“target in archery”). Among the HSK words it appears in 时候 (“time”), 小时候 (“in one's childhood”) and 气候 (“climate”). Japanese reads it kou, “climate”, as a JLPT N3 kanji.
- Pinyin
- hòu
- Strokes
- 10
- HSK
- 1
- Radical
- 亻 (“person”)
Stroke by stroke
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
- 7
- 8
- 9
- 10
As a left-right character it splits into 亻 (“person”, the radical), strokes 1–2; 矦 (“target in archery”), strokes 3–10, written the left part first.
- top leftdown and left
- leftdownwards
- top leftdownwards
- toprightwards → downwards
- toprightwards
- topdown and right → down and left
- centerrightwards
- centerrightwards
- centerdown and left
- centerdown and right → rightwards
Japanese and Chinese
The two models differ in shape, so our comparison does not claim an order; compare the numbered frames yourself (10 strokes in Japanese, 10 strokes in Chinese).
Trace it
Follow the numbers. Tracing help
Pinyin and meaning
| Pinyin | Meanings | Traditional | In words |
|---|---|---|---|
| hòu fourth tone | to wait; to inquire after; to watch; season; climate | — | 气候 等候 问候 候选人 |
- HSK 2025 syllabus
- level 1
- 2021 standard
- level 1
- HSK 2.0
- in a level 1 word
- Words with it
- 67 in CC-CEDICT
Words with 候
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 时候 時候 | shíhou | time; length of time HSK 1 |
| 小时候 小時候 | xiǎoshíhou | in one's childhood HSK 2 |
| 气候 氣候 | qìhòu | (meteorology) climate; climate HSK 4 |
| 等候 | děnghòu | to wait; to wait for HSK 5 |
| 火候 | huǒhou | heat control; mastery HSK 7-9 |
| 问候 問候 | wènhòu | to give one's respects; to send a greeting HSK 7-9 |
| 候选人 候選人 | hòuxuǎnrén | candidate HSK 7-9 |
| 守候 | shǒuhòu | to wait for; to expect HSK 7-9 |
| 伺候 | cìhou | to serve; to wait upon HSK 7-9 |
| 侍候 | shìhòu | to serve; to wait upon HSK 7-9 |
HSK words first (CC-CEDICT).
Practice sheet
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Keep going
HSK 1, in list order: