Dictionary › 五

五

wǔ

Old HSK 1 HSK 3.0 character level 1 Character

五 (wǔ) means "five". It is an HSK 3.0 level 1 word, and was HSK 1 in the old six-level list.

What 五 means

1. five
2. 5

Example sentences

• 她五岁。
  She's five.
• 现在五点钟.
  It's five o'clock.
• 今天是五号。
  Today is the fifth.
• 我五点在家。
  I am at home at five o'clock.
• 五个人死了。
  Five people died.
• 七减二是五。
  Seven minus two is five.

Words starting with 五

• 五十wǔ shífifty
• 五一wǔ yī5-1 (May 1st)
• 五月Wǔ yuèMay; fifth month (of the lunar year)
• 五四wǔ sìfourth of May, cf 五四运动, national renewal movement that started with 4th May 1919 protest…
• 五官wǔ guānfive sense organs of TCM (nose, eyes, lips, tongue, ears 鼻目口舌耳); facial features
• 五花八门wǔ huā bā ménmyriad; all kinds of; all sorts of
• 五颜六色wǔ yán liù sèmulticolored; every color under the sun
• 五行wǔ xíngfive phases of Chinese philosophy: wood 木, fire 火, earth 土, metal 金, water 水
• 五彩wǔ cǎifive (main) colors (white, black, red, yellow, and blue); multicolored
• 五星wǔ xīngthe five visible planets, namely: Mercury 水星, Venus 金星, Mars 火星, Jupiter 木星, Saturn 土星
• 五色wǔ sèmulticolored; the rainbow; garish
• 五金wǔ jīnmetal hardware (nuts and bolts); the five metals: gold, silver, copper, iron, tin 金银铜铁锡
• 五彩缤纷wǔ cǎi bīn fēnall the colors in profusion (idiom); a garish display
• 五星级wǔ xīng jífive-star (hotel)
• 五代Wǔ dàiFive Dynasties, period of history between the fall of the Tang dynasty (907) and the…
• 五台山Wǔ tái ShānMt Wutai in Shanxi 山西
• 五体投地wǔ tǐ tóu dìto prostrate oneself in admiration (idiom); to adulate sb
• 五角大楼Wǔ jiǎo Dà lóuthe Pentagon
• 五星红旗wǔ xīng hóng qífive-starred red flag (PRC national flag)
• 五七wǔ qīmemorial activity 35 days after a person's death
• 五粮液Wǔ liáng yèWuliangye liquor; Five Grain liquor
• 五光十色wǔ guāng shí sè(idiom) bright and multicolored; of rich variety; dazzling; glitzy
• 五指wǔ zhǐthe five fingers of one's hand
• 五脏wǔ zàngfive viscera of TCM, namely: heart 心

Words containing 五

• 第五dì wǔfifth
• 十五shí wǔfifteen; 15
• 星期五Xīng qī wǔFriday
• 周五Zhōu wǔFriday
• 三五sān wǔseveral; three or five
• 王老五wáng lǎo wǔbachelor (lit. fifth child of the Wangs)
• 王五Wáng WǔWang Wu, name for an unspecified person, third of a series of three: 张三
• 隔三差五gé sān chà wǔ(idiom) every few days; every once in a while
• 一五一十yī wǔ yī shílit. count by fives and tens (idiom); to narrate systematically and in full detail
• 三下五除二sān xià wǔ chú èrthree, set five remove two (abacus rule); efficiently; quickly and easily
• 伸手不见五指shēn shǒu bù jiàn wǔ zhǐpitch-dark (idiom)
• 三番五次sān fān wǔ cìover and over again (idiom)
• 四分五裂sì fēn wǔ liè(idiom) fragmented; scattered; in disarray; at sixes and sevens
• 黑五类hēi wǔ lèithe "five black categories" (Cultural Revolution term), i.e. landlords, rich peasants…
• 二百五èr bǎi wǔidiot; stupid person; a dope
• 重五chóng wǔDragon Boat Festival (5th day of 5th lunar month)
• 黑五Hēi wǔBlack Friday (abbr. for 黑色星期五
• 八一五Bā yī wǔ15th August, the anniversary of Japan's surrender in 1945
• 刺五加cì wǔ jiāmanyprickle (Acanthopanax senticosus), root used in TCM
• 大五码dà wǔ mǎBig5 Chinese character coding (developed by Taiwanese companies from 1984)
• 戊五醇wù wǔ chúnxylitol; also written 木糖醇
• 毕宿五bì xiù wǔAldebaran or Alpha Tauri
• 礼拜五Lǐ bài wǔFriday
• 红五类hóng wǔ lèithe “five red categories” (Cultural Revolution term), i.e. poor and lower-middle…

Characters that look like 五

Easy to confuse on sight. Compare them side by side once and the pair stops costing you.

• 立lìto stand; to set up; to establish
• 兰lánorchid (兰花 Cymbidium goeringii); fragrant thoroughwort (兰草 Eupatorium fortunei)…
• 且qiěand; moreover; yet
• 王wángking or monarch; best or strongest of its type; grand
• 玉yùjade
• 丘qiūmound; hillock; grave

Sounds the same

Read wǔ, tone for tone, but written differently.

• 午7th earthly branch: 11 a.m.-1 p.m., noon, 5th solar month (6th June-6th July), year of…
• 舞to dance; to wield; to brandish
• 武martial; military
• 伍squad of five soldiers; to associate with; five (banker's anti-fraud numeral)
• 侮to insult; to ridicule; to disgrace
• 捂to enclose; to cover with the hand (one's eyes, nose or ears); to cover up (an affair)
• 鹉used in 鹦鹉
• 妩used in 妩媚
• 忤disobedient; unfilial
• 碔inferior gem; a kind of jade
• 仵equal; well-matched; to violate
• 牾to oppose; to gore

Where 五 is taught

In the GraphChinese course it is part of Numbers Zero to Ten (HSK 1), First 20 Characters: Numbers and Simple Forms (HSK 0), each one a topic in the dependency graph of HSK 1–6 that opens only once its prerequisites are solid.

Go deeper

• Every HSK 1 word, with the rest of its level.
• How characters are built from components.
• How to learn Chinese characters.
• The four tones and the neutral tone, to read wǔ correctly.
• Look up another word in the free dictionary.