How to Write 糊 (hú/hù) — Meaning “Paste”

Picture a bowl of rice (米) that you stir until it becomes a sticky paste, and then you accidentally get some on your beard (胡). The messiness of the paste on the beard also helps you remember the word 糊涂 (muddled, confused).

Keep the left radical 米 narrow; its bottom strokes should be a left-falling stroke and a right-falling stroke, not two horizontal lines. On the right side 胡, the first stroke is a dot, then a short left-falling stroke, followed by a long horizontal stroke—do not make them all the same length.

All three use the 米 radical, but 粮 (liáng, grain) adds 良, 粱 (liáng, fine grain) adds 梁, and 糊 adds 胡. While 粮 and 粱 refer to types of grain or food, 糊 means "paste" or in words like 糊涂 (muddled) and 糊弄 (to fool), showing a different usage related to stickiness or confusion.

You often see 糊 in 糊涂 (muddled) to describe someone who is confused or unclear in thinking, and in 糊弄 (to fool) meaning to do something carelessly or to trick someone. It also appears in 糊墙 (to paper a wall), literally using paste to stick wallpaper, so the character keeps its original meaning of "paste."

Common words containing 糊 include: 糊涂 (hú tú) — Muddled; 糊弄 (hù nòng) — To fool; to deceive; to do something half-heartedly.; 糊墙 (hú qiáng) — To paper a wall..