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胡同

hú tòng

alley

How common it is

胡同 appears often in everyday Chinese, so it is worth practicing early and reviewing often.

Pronunciation focus

Say hú tòng slowly first, then repeat it in a short phrase. Listen for the tone shape.

Usage note

胡同表示老式的小巷。

hú tòng biǎo shì lǎo shì de xiǎo xiàng。

胡同 means an old-style narrow alley.

Context note

胡同常用于城市、历史和旅游。

hú tòng cháng yòng yú chéng shì 、 lì shǐ hé lǚ yóu。

It is often used with cities, history, and tourism.

5 examples

我们走进胡同。
wǒ men zǒu jìn hú tòng。
We walked into the alley.
胡同很安静。
hú tòng hěn ān jìng。
The alley is very quiet.
老北京有很多胡同。
lǎo běi jīng yǒu hěn duō hú tòng。
Old Beijing has many hutongs.
孩子们在胡同里玩。
hái zi men zài hú tòng lǐ wán。
The children are playing in the alley.
这条胡同很窄。
zhè tiáo hú tòng hěn zhǎi。
This alley is very narrow.

5 mini stories

老师带大家参观胡同。
lǎo shī dài dà jiā cān guān hú tòng。
The teacher took everyone to visit the hutong.
胡同里住着很多老人。
hú tòng lǐ zhù zhe hěn duō lǎo rén。
Many elderly people live in the alley.
他们在胡同口见面。
tā men zài hú tòng kǒu jiàn miàn。
They met at the entrance of the alley.
胡同里很有生活气息。
hú tòng lǐ hěn yǒu shēng huó qì xī。
The alley has a strong sense of everyday life.
他喜欢老胡同的感觉。
tā xǐ huan lǎo hú tòng de gǎn jué。
He likes the feeling of old hutongs.

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