How to Write 浒 (hǔ) — Meaning “riverside; bank of a river”

Imagine a riverbank where boats are ‘permitted’ (许 means permit) to dock. The water radical 氵 reminds you of the river, and the idea of permission helps you recall the right side 许.

When writing 浒, first write the water radical 氵 (three strokes: dot, dot, lift). Then write the right side 许 correctly: start with 讠 (two strokes: dot, horizontal left-falling), then 午 (four strokes: left-falling, horizontal, vertical, horizontal). A common mistake is making the 午 part too wide or mixing up its stroke order.

浒 has the water radical on the left and the component 许 on the right, while 㳄 has 欠 (qiàn) on the right, and 汧 has 开 (kāi) on the right. Visually, 浒's right side is more complex with multiple strokes, and 浒 is much more common because of its use in the novel title 水浒传.

浒 appears mainly in place names, such as 浒溪 and 浒口, and famously in the title 水浒传 (Water Margin), a classic Chinese novel about outlaws. In daily conversation, 浒 is rarely used alone, but it remains culturally important due to this famous literary work.

Common words containing 浒 include: 水浒传 (shuǐ hǔ zhuàn) — Water Margin (a classic Chinese novel); 浒溪 (hǔ xī) — Huxi Stream; 浒口 (hǔ kǒu) — Hukou (a place name, usually a port).