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HSK 1

号

day of the month; number

nounspoken1 episode
号
hào4th tone

HSK level

1
2
3
4
5
6
Pinyin
hào
Part of speech
noun
Level
HSK 1
Strokes
5
Register
spoken
Measure word
个
In episodes
1

Stroke order for 号

号 is written with 5 strokes. The animation replays automatically.

What does 号 mean?

号 (hào) is the Chinese word for 'number' in the sense of an identifying label — a date, room, size, phone, or rank.

Its most common HSK 1 use is the day of the month: 五月三号 'May 3rd.' In speech, dates are almost always given with 号; the written form 日 (rì) shows up in newspapers, official documents, and formal writing. 号 also labels other identifiers: 几号 'what number / what day,' 房号 'room number,' 大号/小号 'large/small size,' 几号楼 'which building.' Two notes for English speakers: first, 号 comes AFTER the number (三号, not 号三).

Second, when asking 'what's the date today?' the natural phrasing is 今天几号? — using 号, not 日.

Note: In dates, 号 is the spoken/everyday word; 日 (rì) is the written/formal equivalent. Newspapers, official documents, and signs prefer 日; conversations and texts almost always use 号.

Hear 号 in real episodes

号 appears in 1 Fluentide podcast episode at natural native speed. Each sentence plays at the easiest difficulty it exists in — switch it to hear the same moment at your level, with full pinyin and English throughout.

手表也会说今天几月几号。

The watch can also tell you today's date.

Rolex Padellone Needs One Date Fix a Year

Difficulty
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Example sentences

今天几号？

Jīntiān jǐ hào?

What's the date today?

spoken

今天五月三号。

Jīntiān wǔ yuè sān hào.

Today is May 3rd.

spoken

我的房号是二〇五。

Wǒ de fáng hào shì èr líng wǔ.

My room number is 205.

neutral

我要大号的。

Wǒ yào dà hào de.

I want the large size.

spoken

Common phrases with 号

几号jǐ hàowhat date / what number
三号sān hàothe 3rd; number 3
房号fáng hàoroom number
几月几号jǐ yuè jǐ hàowhat month and date
大号dà hàolarge size

Synonyms

日rì

日 is the formal/written word for 'day of the month' (五月三日). 号 is what people say out loud. In conversation, always use 号.

号码hàomǎ

号码 is the full noun 'number' for phones, IDs, and license plates (电话号码 'phone number'). 号 alone is shorter and used as a suffix (房号, 三号).

Don't confuse 号 with

好hǎo

Looks similar in handwriting but 好 means 'good' and is pronounced hǎo (third tone). 号 is hào (fourth tone). Different character, different tone, different meaning.

月yuè

月 is 'month,' 号 is 'date.' Order matters: 五月三号 (May 3rd) — month first, date second.

FAQ

Related words from the same episodes

帮to help聪明smart / clever后面behind / after几how many / what今天today劳力士Rolex名字name帕德洛尼Perpetual普通ordinary人person / people日期date容易easy

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