互 (hù) — HSK 4 Recognition Character: Meaning, Radical & Stroke Order

hù mutually, reciprocally 4 strokes · Radical 二 (two) · HSK 4 recognition character (认读字)

👁 Recognition only: the official HSK 4 syllabus asks you to recognize 互 when reading — handwriting it is not required (that applies to the 150 writing characters). The stroke animation below is optional but helps memory.

Pronunciation & meaning

Pronounced hù.

mutually
reciprocally

Stroke Order & Practice

Click Animate to see the correct stroke order, then Practice to trace it yourself.

互 — 4 strokes, numbered in writing order. 笔顺图（数字为下笔顺序）。

Decomposition

互 breaks down into 1 component arranged as Outer surrounds Inner. Recognizing the components makes the character easier to remember and write.

互 =

二 outer two

Radical

The radical of 互 is 二 — meaning two. Radicals are the indexing components used in Chinese dictionaries; they often hint at a character's broad meaning category.

Other HSK 4 characters that share this radical: 云.

How the character is built

互 is an ideographic compound — its meaning is suggested by the combination of its parts rather than by sound. Two hooks hooking eachother.

HSK 4 Words Containing 互

互联网 hùliánwǎng internet; the Internet

互联网改变了人们的生活。

Hùliánwǎng gǎibiàn le rénmen de shēnghuó.

The Internet has changed people's lives.

互相 hùxiāng mutually; each other

同学之间要互相帮助。

Tóngxué zhījiān yào hùxiāng bāngzhù.

Classmates should help each other.

相互 xiānghù mutually; each other

朋友之间要相互信任。

Péngyou zhījiān yào xiānghù xìnrèn.

Friends should trust each other.

Tasks Featuring 互 / 相关任务

Words containing 互 appear in these official HSK 4 task scenarios — study the character in context:

📚 讲述中外友好故事

China-World Friendship · 互相、相互

📚 介绍新技术应用及科技成果

Technology · 互联网

FAQ

What does 互 mean in Chinese?

互 (hù) means mutually, reciprocally. It is one of the 441 characters HSK 4 requires you to recognize when reading (认读字).

How many strokes does 互 have?

互 is written in 4 strokes. Use the practice tool above to see the correct stroke order and trace it yourself.

What is the radical of 互?

The radical of 互 is 二 (two). Other HSK 4 characters with the same radical include 云.

What is the pinyin for 互?

互 is pronounced hù.

What HSK 4 words use 互?

In our HSK 4 vocabulary, 互 appears in 3 words, including 互联网 (hùliánwǎng), 互相 (hùxiāng), 相互 (xiānghù). See the full list above.