户口 = hukou It's an official document about a household. Containing everything about its members, their maritial status, relations, birth, residence,... It's a booklet. Like a passport. Let's say it's a mobile copy of the household register.

well, why you dont sigh her tone, cuz that could be several things. hùkǒu = 户口 It's an official document about a household. hǔkǒu = 虎口 part of the hand between the thumb and the index finger húkǒu = 糊口 make a living to feed the family

Actually "hukou" means the right of your occupancy in some place of China, so the "hukou" of some big cities like Beijing and Shanghai is much more valuable than other cities... in early years, people without "hukou" could be banished from the cityl.

well,you know,there are four tones in mandarin,as far as i know,there are four meanings of "hukou" ,besides what Huang explained above,there is another meaning of hukou,hǔkǒu虎口,means tiger's mouth,means a very dangerous place,jaws of death,its just a metaphor.most of the time,we use it in set phrase,yang ru hu kou羊入虎口,send a sheep into tiger's mouth.very dangerous,dead meat.haha.thats all hope its helpful to you.a chinglish for you,good good study,day day up.