Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

hoppo

/ˈhɑpoʊ/

Word Rarity Very rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 1.12 in modern English

Syllables: hop-po
IPA: /ˈhɑpoʊ/

12

Scrabble Score

5

Letters

2

Syllables

3

Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

The imperial Chinese board of revenue, especially its branch in Guangzhou during the Qing Dynasty.

Archaic; Countable; Uncountable

noun

An imperial Chinese customs officer, especially (sometimes capitalized) the chief customs officer for the South China Sea based in Guangzhou during the Qing Dynasty.

Archaic; Countable; Uncountable

noun

Alternative letter-case form of hoppo, especially in reference to the imperial board or the chief customs officer of a port.

Archaic; Countable; Uncountable

name

Synonym of Hepu: the Cantonese-derived name.

Example Sentences

"On the way two Chinese buildings were pointed out to us as hoppo, of custom-houses, at both which all boats […] are obliged to stop and undergo a strict search or examination by a petty mandarin."
"Hoppo. This is a tribunal, that has in charge the collecting of imperial dues on navigation and trade, and remitting the amount to the Grand-hoppo at Canton..."
"The Hoppos, who look on Europe Ships as a great branch of their Profits, will give you all the fair Words imaginable."
"...received a most polite invitation from the late Mr. William Parry, a supercargo, to meet the Hoppo (or principal custom-house officer)..."
"Hoppo. This is a tribunal, that has in charge the collecting of imperial dues on navigation and trade, and remitting the amount to the Grand-hoppo at Canton... at Macao, the Portuguese designate him by the epithet Grand-hoppo, in contradistinction to another... [T]he Hoppo of Macao... levies on foreigners, coming and going, an arbitrary tax on their persons and baggage. He is assisted by compradors, pilots and others..."
"The ‘Hoppo’ (as he was incorrectly styled) filled an office especially created for the foreign trade at Canton... The Board of Revenue is in Chinese ‘Hoo-poo’, and the office was locally misapplied to the officer in question."

Etymology

Uncertain, although probably an irregular romanization of the Mandarin pronunciation of Chinese 戶部 /户部 (Hùbù), the imperial government's Board of Revenue which oversaw customs and other taxation during the Qing Dynasty. In reference to its agents, a clipping of earlier hoppo-man.

Origin

Source language: Chinese

Word Breakdown

Root: -, 戶部, 合浦

Regional Pronunciation

American English: /ˈhɑpoʊ/
British English: /ˈhɒpəʊ/

Usage

Inflected Forms

hoppos (plural) hoppoes (plural)

Synonyms

Hepu

Questions

How do you pronounce hoppo?: The recorded pronunciation is /ˈhɑpoʊ/.
What does hoppo mean?: The imperial Chinese board of revenue, especially its branch in Guangzhou during the Qing Dynasty.
Where does hoppo come from?: It is traced to Chinese.

How to pronounce hoppo

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “hoppo”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/ˈhɑpoʊ/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
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Repeat and practice — Say “hoppo” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.