Chinese word

吼

Pronunciation

Pinyinhǒu

Meaning

  • verbyell

Example

会议上他对我吼了一声。huì yì shàng tā duì wǒ hǒu le yì shēng

At the meeting, he yelled at me once.

Illustration for 吼 (yell)

More examples

观众开始喧哗，教练冲着队员吼了几句。guān zhòng kāi shǐ xuān huá jiào liàn chōng zhe duì yuán hǒu le jǐ jù

The audience began to make noise, and the coach shouted at the players several times.

Core concept

A resonant call that breaks out when controlled speaking gives way to raw force.

Common phrases

  • 大声吼dà shēng hǒu

    shout loudly

  • 朝他吼cháo tā hǒu

    shout at him

  • 对裁判吼duì cái pàn hǒu

    shout at the referee

Similar words

喊hǎn: Call out or shout loudly to make a voice heard.
叫jiào: Make a loud cry or call to express something or attract attention.
嚷rǎng: Shout angrily in a noisy, insistent way.
咆哮páo xiào: Roar or bellow loudly in a deep, fierce voice.

Definition in Chinese

发出洪亮或低沉的叫声，可以指动物咆哮，也可以指人因愤怒、惊恐而大声呼喊或怒吼。fā chū hóng liàng huò dī chén de jiào shēng ké yǐ zhǐ dòng wù páo xiào yě ké yǐ zhǐ rén yīn fèn nù jīng kǒng ér dà shēng hū hǎn huò nù hǒu

Word origin

吼 (hǒu, "to yell") originally referred to the loud calls of animals and later came to describe forceful human cries in anger or fear.

Usage tips

  • In everyday conversation, this word is marked rather than a neutral description of volume, so it suits a serious confrontation or a vivid animal sound more than a routine raised voice.

Other meanings

  • howlverb
  • roarverb

Opposites

  • 低语dī yǔwhisperverb
  • 细语xì yǔwhisperverb

Related words

  • 吼声hǒu shēngyellingnoun
  • 吼叫hǒu jiàoshoutverb
  • 怒吼nù hǒushout angrilyverb

Word lists with this word