户

• Pinyin: hù
• Hanzi breakdown: 户 = pictograph of a single door panel — originally a door, extended to mean a household behind the door

Meaning

Household; family; door. A measure word for families or households, also meaning door in classical usage.

As a measure word, used for counting households or families, especially in official and administrative contexts. Common collocations include 一户人家 (one household), 住户 (resident household), 用户 (user/account holder), and 开户 (open an account). Also appears in 门户 (gateway/portal) and 窗户 (window).

Examples

1. 这个小区一共有五百多户人家。 This residential community has more than five hundred households in total.
2. 银行要求每个用户都要实名开户。 The bank requires every user to open an account with their real name.
3. 政府为三十户困难家庭提供了帮助。 The government provided assistance to thirty families in need.

Usage Guide

Context: administration, community, banking

Tone: formal

Do Say

• 这栋楼里住了二十户人。(Twenty households live in this building.)
• 我需要去银行开户。(I need to go to the bank to open an account.)

Don't Say

• 一户人 (When counting people, don't use 户 — use 个 or 位; 户 counts families or households as units, not individual people)

Origin & History

A pictograph of a single door panel (half of 门), originally meaning a door or entrance, later extended to mean a household.

Cultural Context

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal