乎 - Dong Chinese dictionary

hū

interrogative or exclamatory final particle

Original meaning:

exhale, shout

Depicts wind rustling through a tree branch (丂). Based on the original meaning "exhale, shout", now written as 呼. The current meaning is a phonetic loan.

Components

◎ Iconic component

characterless component

Depicts airflow from wind.

丂 Iconic component

kǎo

axe handle

Depicts a tree branch.

Due to historical stylistic changes, this component is less similar to 丂 than it was in ancient scripts.

Evolution

Oracle script

(~1250-1000 BC)

Bronze script

Mid Western Zhou (~900 BC)

Seal script

Shuowen (~100 AD)

Clerical script

Eastern Han dynasty (25-220 AD)

Regular script

Modern

Definitions

乎

hū

interrogative or exclamatory final particle; (classical particle similar to 於|于[yú]) in; at; from; because; than; (classical final particle similar to 嗎|吗[ma], 吧[ba], 呢[ne], expressing question, doubt or astonishment)