How to Write 浩 (hào) — Meaning “vast / grand”

Imagine a huge flood (氵) that is so big you must go and tell (告) everyone about it. The water is vast and grand, so you shout the news. This links the water radical and the "tell" part to the meaning "vast."

浩 has 10 strokes. Write the left radical 氵 first (three dots, then a short horizontal line, then a left-falling stroke), then the right part 告 (start with a short left-falling stroke, then horizontal, then vertical, then horizontal, then a curved stroke, then a short vertical stroke at the bottom). A common mistake is making the right part too large — keep the left and right balanced, and do not forget the final short vertical stroke inside 告.

浩 (hào) means "vast" and has 告 on the right. 沫 (mò) means "foam" or "froth" and has 末 (mò, end) on the right. 沭 (shù) is a river name and has 术 (shù, art) on the right. Visually, the right side of 浩 has an extra horizontal line and a small vertical stroke inside, unlike 沫 and 沭.

浩 is commonly used in words like 浩大 (hào dà, huge) and 浩瀚 (hào hàn, vast) to describe large scale, such as a desert or ocean. Culturally, 浩然 (hào rán) appears in the phrase 浩然正气 (hào rán zhèng qì), meaning "noble and righteous spirit," which is a Confucian ideal of moral grandeur.

Common words containing 浩 include: 浩大 (hào dà) — huge / grand / vast; 浩瀚 (hào hàn) — vast / immense; 浩然 (hào rán) — noble / vast / righteous.