号hào

号

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Simplified · Today

繁体

Traditional Chinese

The traditional form 號 preserves an ancient scene: 虎 (tiger) above, 口 (mouth) below, depicting the beast's roar. From this vivid image came the meanings "to call" and "to cry," eventually extending to "name" and "number." The simplified 号 strips away the tiger entirely, leaving only the mouth — a character diminished in visual story but unchanged in daily use.

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Shuowen

号. The oracle bone depicts a mouth (口) with a vertical stroke of breath emerging from it, representing a loud cry or wail. This pictographic origin gave the character the original sense of 'to weep' or 'to call out', and later it extended to mean 'name' or 'title' because a name is what one calls out to summon a person.

Pinyin

hào· HSK 1

号hào

Character evolution

Shuowen

Pinyin