How to Write 护 (hù) — Meaning “to protect; to guard”

Imagine a hand (扌) holding a door (户) shut to keep danger out. This visual of a hand guarding a door helps you recall both the shape and the meaning 'to protect'.

Write the left radical 扌 first (three strokes: horizontal, vertical hook, lift), then the right part 户 (four strokes: dot, horizontal left-falling, horizontal, vertical). A common mistake is making the right side too wide or mixing up the order of strokes in 户—remember the dot comes first.

护 uses the right side 户 (door), while 扑 (pū, to throw or pounce) has 卜 (divination) on the right. 㧜 is extremely rare and looks similar but is not used in modern Chinese—focus on the clear 'door' shape in 护 to distinguish it.

护 appears in common words like 保护 (to protect), 护士 (nurse), and 护照 (passport). Culturally, 护士 is an everyday term for nurses, and 保护 is used in formal and casual contexts to talk about safeguarding people, nature, or rights.

Common words containing 护 include: 护照 (hù zhào) — passport; 护士 (hù shì) — nurse; 保护 (bǎo hù) — to protect; to safeguard.