How to Write 瓠 (hù) — Meaning “bottle gourd”

Picture a proud gourd showing off: the left side 夸 looks like a person with arms raised boasting, and the right side 瓜 is a melon. Imagine a bottle gourd being so large that you have to boast about it — this pairs the sound hù with the visual of a big gourd.

The left side 夸 has 6 strokes; be careful to write the top as 大 (dà) over 亏 (kuī), not as a single 夸. The right side 瓜 has 5 strokes, and the final dot (丶) inside the hook must be clear. Keep the overall width balanced, as the left side is slightly wider than the right.

瓠 (hù) specifically means 'bottle gourd'. 㼌 (yǔ) is a rare character meaning a kind of gourd or a gourd that is not fully grown; it has 瓜 on the bottom with a different top. 瓞 (dié) refers to a small gourd or a type of melon seedling, and its left side is 失 (shī). Unlike 瓠, both 㼌 and 瓞 are very uncommon in modern Chinese.

瓠 appears in words like 瓠瓜 (hù guā) and 瓠子 (hù zi), both meaning the bottle gourd plant or its fruit. It is not in the HSK vocabulary, so it is mostly seen in agricultural contexts, traditional medicine, or when describing certain vegetables. In Chinese culture, bottle gourds are sometimes associated with longevity and used as a symbol in folk art.

Common words containing 瓠 include: 瓠瓜 (hù guā) — bottle gourd; 瓠子 (hù zi) — bottle gourd; 瓠叶 (hù yè) — gourd leaves.