How to Write 乎 (hū) — Meaning “(classical particle) / expressing doubt”

Imagine a person raising their hand in doubt, with the top stroke as the arm and the curved part as the body leaning forward. The shape resembles a question mark, reminding you that 乎 expresses doubt in classical Chinese.

The stroke order is: left-falling stroke (丿), then a horizontal stroke, then a curved hook, and finally two small dots inside. A common mistake is making the curved hook too straight or forgetting the two dots, which should be written as short horizontal strokes inside the curve.

While 乎 has a curved hook with two dots inside, 丹 (meaning "cinnabar") has a dot and a horizontal line inside a half-box, and 久 (meaning "long time") has a slanted stroke and a right-falling stroke without dots. Visually, 乎 is the only one with a clear hook and two internal dots.

Modern Chinese uses 乎 mainly in common words like 几乎 (almost), 似乎 (seems), and 在乎 (to care about). It no longer appears alone as a classical particle except in formal or literary contexts, where it can still express doubt or a question in written Chinese.

Common words containing 乎 include: 几乎 (jī hū) — almost; nearly; 似乎 (sì hū) — it seems; apparently; 在乎 (zài hū) — To care about; to mind.