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U+4F55, 何
CJK UNIFIED IDEOGRAPH-4F55

[U+4F54]
CJK Unified Ideographs
[U+4F56]

Translingual[edit]

Stroke order
0 strokes
Stroke order

Han character[edit]

(Kangxi radical 9, +5, 7 strokes, cangjie input 人一弓口 (OMNR), four-corner 21220, composition )

Derived characters[edit]

References[edit]

  • KangXi: page 98, character 15
  • Dai Kanwa Jiten: character 511
  • Dae Jaweon: page 208, character 5
  • Hanyu Da Zidian (first edition): volume 1, page 130, character 4
  • Unihan data for U+4F55

Chinese[edit]

simp. and trad.
alternative forms ⿰彳可

Glyph origin[edit]

Historical forms of the character
Shang Western Zhou Shuowen Jiezi (compiled in Han) Liushutong (compiled in Ming)
Oracle bone script Bronze inscriptions Small seal script Transcribed ancient scripts





References:

Mostly from Richard Sears' Chinese Etymology site (authorisation),
which in turn draws data from various collections of ancient forms of Chinese characters, including:

  • Shuowen Jiezi (small seal),
  • Jinwen Bian (bronze inscriptions),
  • Liushutong (Liushutong characters) and
  • Yinxu Jiaguwen Bian (oracle bone script).

In the oracle bone script, a pictogram (象形): a man carrying something on their shoulder – the original form of (OC *ɡaːlʔ, “to carry”).

The object being carried may have been , in which case the character is also an ideogrammic compound (會意) and phono-semantic compound (形聲, OC *ɡaːl, *ɡaːlʔ): semantic (person) + phonetic (OC *koːl, dagger-axe).

In the bronze inscriptions, some forms of the character were phono-semantic compound (形聲, OC *ɡaːl, *ɡaːlʔ): semantic (person) + phonetic (OC *kʰaːlʔ), from which the modern form derives.

Etymology[edit]

Cognate with the following interrogative pronouns:

  • (OC *ɡaː, “what; why”)
  • (OC *ɡeː, “what; why; where”)
  • (OC *ɡaːd, “why”)
  • (OC *ɡaːb, “why not”): from the fusion of 何不 (OC *ɡaːl pɯ, “why not”)

In Sino-Tibetan, cognate with Tibetan ག་ན (ga na, where; how), Tibetan ག་རུ (ga ru, to where) (Schuessler, 2007).

STEDT, on the other hand, compares (OC *ɡaːlʔ) to Proto-Sino-Tibetan *ka (which; like; diectic; interrogative), to which (OC *kɯlʔ, “how many”) and (OC *ŋ̊ʰɯlʔ, “how”) are also compared.

Pronunciation 1[edit]


Note:
  • hô/hô͘ - literary (incl. surname);
  • ôa - vernacular.
  • Wu

  • Rime
    Character
    Reading # 1/2
    Initial () (33)
    Final () (94)
    Tone (調) Level (Ø)
    Openness (開合) Open
    Division () I
    Fanqie
    Baxter ha
    Reconstructions
    Zhengzhang
    Shangfang
    /ɦɑ/
    Pan
    Wuyun
    /ɦɑ/
    Shao
    Rongfen
    /ɣɑ/
    Edwin
    Pulleyblank
    /ɦa/
    Li
    Rong
    /ɣɑ/
    Wang
    Li
    /ɣɑ/
    Bernard
    Karlgren
    /ɣɑ/
    Expected
    Mandarin
    Reflex
    Expected
    Cantonese
    Reflex
    ho4
    BaxterSagart system 1.1 (2014)
    Character
    Reading # 1/1
    Modern
    Beijing
    (Pinyin)
    Middle
    Chinese
    ‹ ha ›
    Old
    Chinese
    /*[ɡ]ˁaj/
    English what

    Notes for Old Chinese notations in the Baxter–Sagart system:

    * Parentheses "()" indicate uncertain presence;
    * Square brackets "[]" indicate uncertain identity, e.g. *[t] as coda may in fact be *-t or *-p;
    * Angle brackets "<>" indicate infix;
    * Hyphen "-" indicates morpheme boundary;

    * Period "." indicates syllable boundary.
    Zhengzhang system (2003)
    Character
    Reading # 1/2
    No. 7458
    Phonetic
    component
    Rime
    group
    Rime
    subdivision
    1
    Corresponding
    MC rime
    Old
    Chinese
    /*ɡaːl/

    Definitions[edit]

    1. (literary, interrogative pronoun asking for the specification of an identity, quantity, quality, etc. of something) what; which
        ―  chù  ―  where [lit. what place]
        ―    ―  what day; when
    2. (literary) where; what place
    3. (literary, interrogative pronoun asking for reason, manner, etc. of an action) why; how
        ―    ―  why must you
        ―    ―  why not
    4. (literary) (forming emphatic sentences) so; such; what; how
    5. a surname
        ―  Yìngqīn  ―  He Yingqin (Kuomintang general)
    Quotations[edit]
    Synonyms[edit]

    Compounds[edit]

    Descendants[edit]

    • Tagalog: Ho (via Hokkien)

    Pronunciation 2[edit]



    Rime
    Character
    Reading # 2/2
    Initial () (33)
    Final () (94)
    Tone (調) Rising (X)
    Openness (開合) Open
    Division () I
    Fanqie
    Baxter haX
    Reconstructions
    Zhengzhang
    Shangfang
    /ɦɑX/
    Pan
    Wuyun
    /ɦɑX/
    Shao
    Rongfen
    /ɣɑX/
    Edwin
    Pulleyblank
    /ɦaX/
    Li
    Rong
    /ɣɑX/
    Wang
    Li
    /ɣɑX/
    Bernard
    Karlgren
    /ɣɑX/
    Expected
    Mandarin
    Reflex
    Expected
    Cantonese
    Reflex
    ho6
    Zhengzhang system (2003)
    Character
    Reading # 2/2
    No. 7466
    Phonetic
    component
    Rime
    group
    Rime
    subdivision
    1
    Corresponding
    MC rime
    Old
    Chinese
    /*ɡaːlʔ/
    Notes

    Definitions[edit]

    1. Original form of (“to carry”).

    Pronunciation 3[edit]


    Definitions[edit]

    1. Original form of (“to scold; to criticise; to denounce”).

    References[edit]

    Japanese[edit]

    Kanji[edit]

    (grade 2 “Kyōiku” kanji)

    1. what

    Readings[edit]

    Etymology[edit]

    Kanji in this term
    なに
    Grade: 2
    kun’yomi

    From Old Japanese, from Proto-Japonic *n-anu-.

    Pronunciation[edit]

    Compounds[edit]

    Interjection[edit]

    (なに) (nani

    1. What?, Huh?

    Pronoun[edit]

    (なに) (nani (alternative reading hiragana なん, rōmaji nan)

    1. what
    2. that thing (used in place of words you can't remember at the moment.)

    Usage notes[edit]

    • is usually read as なに, but before , , , it is read as なん. When followed by , both readings are possible, albeit with different meanings.

    Derived terms[edit]

    Related terms[edit]

    Descendants[edit]

    See also[edit]

    Prefix[edit]

    (なん) (nan-

    1. what number, how many (used with a counter)
    2. (used with も) many (used with a counter)
      この(こう)(こく)(なん)(かい)()
      kono kōkoku o nankai mo mita
      I've seen this ad many times

    Derived terms[edit]

    References[edit]

    1. 1.0 1.1 1974, 新明解国語辞典 (Shin Meikai Kokugo Jiten), Second Edition (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Sanseidō

    Korean[edit]

    Etymology[edit]

    From Middle Chinese (MC ɦɑ).

    Hanja[edit]

    Korean Wikisource has texts containing the hanja:

    Wikisource

    (eumhun 어찌 (eojji ha))

    1. Hanja form? of (how; what).

    Compounds[edit]

    References[edit]

    • 국제퇴계학회 대구경북지부 (國際退溪學會 大邱慶北支部) (2007). Digital Hanja Dictionary, 전자사전/電子字典. [2]

    Kunigami[edit]

    Kanji[edit]

    Readings[edit]

    Pronunciation[edit]

    Pronoun[edit]

    (hiragana ぬー, rōmaji )

    1. what

    Miyako[edit]

    Kanji[edit]

    Readings[edit]

    Pronunciation[edit]

    Pronoun[edit]

    (hiragana のー, rōmaji )

    1. what

    Okinawan[edit]

    Kanji[edit]

    (grade 2 “Kyōiku” kanji)

    Readings[edit]

    Pronunciation[edit]

    Pronoun[edit]

    (ぬー) (

    1. what

    Vietnamese[edit]

    Han character[edit]

    : Hán Nôm readings: , ,

    1. This term needs a translation to English. Please help out and add a translation, then remove the text {{rfdef}}.

    References[edit]

    Yaeyama[edit]

    Kanji[edit]

    Readings[edit]

    Pronunciation[edit]

    Pronoun[edit]

    (hiragana のー, rōmaji )

    1. what

    Yonaguni[edit]

    Kanji[edit]

    Readings[edit]

    Pronunciation[edit]

    Pronoun[edit]

    (hiragana ぬー, rōmaji )

    1. what