打招呼 (dǎ zhāohu) · to greet
打招呼 (dǎ zhāohu) means “to greet; to say hello; to let sb know”. It is written with 3 characters: 打 (to play (ball)) + 招 (to summon) + 呼 (to breathe). It is an HSK 4 word in the current exam syllabus (2025).
How 打招呼 is built
The characters
打 dǎ · to play (ball)
What 打 is made of
- 扌shǒu — hand
- 二 — two strokes
- 一 — horizontal stroke
- 一 — horizontal stroke
- 亅 — hook
- 二 — two strokes
- 丁dīng — male adult
Origin hint: 扌 gives the meaning, 丁 gives the sound. (from the Make Me a Hanzi dataset; treat as a memory aid where history is uncertain)
招 zhāo · to summon
What 招 is made of
- 扌shǒu — hand
- 二 — two strokes
- 一 — horizontal stroke
- 一 — horizontal stroke
- 亅 — hook
- 二 — two strokes
- 召zhào — imperial decree
- 刀dāo — knife
- 丿 — falling stroke
- 口kǒu — mouth
- 冂 — frame
- 一 — horizontal stroke
- 刀dāo — knife
Origin hint: A call 召 to arms 扌; 召 also provides the pronunciation (from the Make Me a Hanzi dataset; treat as a memory aid where history is uncertain)
呼 hū · to breathe
What 呼 is made of
- 口kǒu — mouth
- 冂 — frame
- 丨 — vertical stroke
- 一 — horizontal stroke
- 冂 — frame
- 乎hū — interrogative or exclamatory final particle
- 丿 — falling stroke
- 丷ha — kwukyel
- 丶 — dot
Origin hint: 口 gives the meaning, 乎 gives the sound. (from the Make Me a Hanzi dataset; treat as a memory aid where history is uncertain)
Example sentences
Questions about 打招呼
What does 打招呼 mean?
打招呼 (dǎ zhāohu) means “to greet; to say hello; to let sb know”.
How do you pronounce 打招呼?
打招呼 is pronounced dǎ zhāohu.
Which HSK level is 打招呼?
打招呼 is in HSK 4 (exam 2025) and Old HSK 4.
Related words
- 打车dǎchēto take a taxi
- 打电话dǎdiànhuàto make a phone call
- 打开dǎkāito open
- 打球dǎqiúto play ball
- 打工dǎgōngto work part-time
- 打算dǎsuànto plan
- 打印dǎyìnto print
- 打破dǎpòto break
- 打听dǎtingto ask about
- 打败dǎbàito defeat
It is part of Old HSK 4 · Group 7: a short group with quick checks and spaced repeats.