How to Write 灏 (hào) — Meaning “vast; grand”

Picture a huge ocean (氵) under a bright sky (the right part 颢, which looks like a sun over a page). This image of water stretching as far as the eye can see under a clear sky helps you recall that 灏 means 'vast' or 'grand'.

灏 has 21 strokes, so keep the left side 氵 narrow and compact. The right side 颢 is complex: write the top part (日) narrow, then the middle (亠) and bottom (页) balanced, ensuring the last stroke (丶) on 页 is a dot, not a line. Common mistakes include making the water radical too wide or misplacing the dots in the right part.

灏 (hào) focuses on vastness or boundlessness, often in a poetic or atmospheric sense, like 灏气 (vast spirit). 瀚 (hàn) also means vast but is more common in compound words like 浩瀚 (vast, for oceans or deserts). 瀛 (yíng) specifically refers to the ocean or a legendary island, and has a 宀 radical on top, unlike the water radical in 灏.

灏 is a classical, literary character rarely used in everyday speech but common in names (e.g., given names meaning 'vast spirit') and in formal or poetic descriptions of nature, like 灏瀚 (vast expanse). It carries a majestic, ancient feel and is not part of the HSK vocabulary, so learners encounter it mainly in classical texts, calligraphy, or as a name character.

Common words containing 灏 include: 灏瀚 (hào hàn) — vast; boundless; 灏气 (hào qì) — vast spirit; primordial atmosphere; 灏灏 (hào hào) — vast and expansive.