须 xū — beard; necessary; must; beard; mustache
过马路必须看红绿灯。Guò mǎ lù bì xū kàn hóng lǜ dēng.When crossing the road, you must watch the traffic lights.
Common words: 必须 (bì xū)、胡须 (hú xū)、须知 (xū zhī)
Meaning Index
Learn Chinese characters with the meaning "mustache", including 须 (xū), 胡 (hú). Study pinyin, English meanings, traditional forms, common words, and examples.
The English word "mustache" covers 2 different Chinese characters — 须 (xū), 胡 (hú) — and each is its own word with its own feel. These 2 characters do not share a sound — their readings span xū, hú — so confirm the pinyin and tone for each one separately. The example sentences further down show how 须 and the others are actually used, so you learn them in context rather than as a single translation.
Anchor each of these 2 characters in a word you can picture — start with 须 (xū) — so "mustache" turns into concrete usage instead of a one-to-one translation.
Each character below is shown in a short example sentence with pinyin and an English translation — the quickest way to feel the difference between the 2 ways to say "mustache".
过马路必须看红绿灯。Guò mǎ lù bì xū kàn hóng lǜ dēng.When crossing the road, you must watch the traffic lights.
Common words: 必须 (bì xū)、胡须 (hú xū)、须知 (xū zhī)
北京有很多古老的胡同。Běi jīng yǒu hěn duō gǔ lǎo de hú tòng.Beijing has many old alleys.
Common words: 胡子 (hú zi)、胡说 (hú shuō)、胡须 (hú xū)
Open 须、胡 or any character below to hear it read aloud and see it used in an example sentence.