忽

hū

勿 + 心

Frequency#912

Definitions

hū (adverb) suddenly; all at once

hū (verb) to neglect; to overlook; to ignore

Etymology

Phonosemantic compound. 心 represents the meaning and 勿 represents the sound.

Semantic: 心 Phonetic: 勿

About

The character "忽" is structured with the phonetic component "勿" positioned above the semantic component "心", which associates it with mental processes. Its earliest recorded meaning pertained to neglecting or overlooking, derived from the notion of a distracted mind. This meaning later extended to convey the adverbial sense of "suddenly" or "in an instant", representing a shift from describing a lapse of attention to indicating a very short duration of time.

Etymology Hide

Bronze Late Warring States (~250 BC)

Seal Shuowen (~100 AD)

Clerical Western Han dynasty (202 BC-9 AD)

Clerical Eastern Han dynasty (25-220 AD)

Traditional Modern

Simplified Modern

Example Sentences Hide

天气忽然变冷了。

Tiānqì hūrán biàn lěng le.

The weather suddenly turned cold.

他忽然想起一个重要约会。

Tā hūrán xiǎngqǐ yī gè zhòngyào yuēhuì.

He suddenly remembered an important appointment.

不要忽略细节的重要性。

Búyào hūlüè xìjié de zhòngyàoxìng.

Don't overlook the importance of details.

我们不能忽视环境保护。

Wǒmen bùnéng hūshì huánjìng bǎohù.

We cannot ignore environmental protection.

他的成绩忽高忽低。

Tā de chéngjī hū gāo hū dī.

His grades fluctuate.

他忽而兴奋，忽而沮丧，情绪很不稳定。

Tā hū'ér xīngfèn, hū'ér jǔsàng, qíngxù hěn bù wěndìng.

He is excited one moment and depressed the next; his mood is very unstable.

别被他那套说辞忽悠了。

Bié bèi tā nà tào shuōcí hūyou le.

Don't be fooled by his rhetoric.

历史忽远忽近，取决于我们如何看待它。

Lìshǐ hū yuǎn hū jìn, qǔjué yú wǒmen rúhé kàndài tā.

History feels sometimes distant, sometimes close, depending on how we look at it.

Related Characters

Composed characters:

Component: 勿

Component: 心

忽