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乎

hū

1. modal particle (sentence-final particle marking a question or rhetorical question; classical, = 吗/呢)

   有朋自远方来，不亦乐乎？

   Yǒu péng zì yuǎnfāng lái, bù yì lè hū?

   Is it not a joy to have friends come from afar?

2. modal particle (sentence-final particle marking an exclamation; classical, = 啊)

   惜乎，他没能亲眼看到这一天。

   Xī hū, tā méi néng qīnyǎn kàndào zhè yī tiān.

   Alas, he did not live to see this day.

3. preposition (equivalent to 于) in; at; than; regarding (mostly as a word-forming element)

   他这次的表现出乎所有人的意料。

   Tā zhè cì de biǎoxiàn chūhū suǒyǒu rén de yìliào.

   His performance this time was beyond everyone's expectations.

The full ChinesePath dictionary entry for 乎 includes audio for every reading and example sentence, more example sentences, collocations, synonyms and links to the course units where it is taught.