何

See also: 伺, 向, 同, and 回

何	U+4F55, 何 CJK UNIFIED IDEOGRAPH-4F55

← 佔
[U+4F54]

CJK Unified Ideographs

佖 →
[U+4F56]

Translingual[edit]

Stroke order

Han character[edit]

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

References[edit]

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

Chinese[edit]

simp. and trad.		何

Glyph origin[edit]

Historical forms of the character 何

**Oracle bone script**
j18879	j18880	j18881	j18882	j18883	j18884	j18885	j18886
j18887	j18888	j18889	j18890	j18891	j18892	j18893	j18894
j18895	j18896	j18897	j18898	j18899	j18901	j18902	j18903
j18904	j18905	j18906	j18907	j18908	j18909	j18910	j18911
j18913	j18914	j18915	j18916	j18917	j18918	j18919	j18920
j18921	j18922	j18923	j18924	j18925	j18926	j18927	j18928
j18929	j18930	j18931

**Bronze inscriptions**
b12289	b12290

**Large seal script**
L32362	L08383	L08384	L08385	L08386	L08387	L08377	L08378
L08379	L08380	L08381	L08382

**Small seal script**
s05736

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 (large seal) and
Xu Jiaguwen Bian (oracle bone script).

Characters in the same phonetic series (可) (Zhengzhang, 2003)
	Old Chinese
砢	ɡ·raːlʔ
柯	kaːl
菏	kaːl, *ɡaːl
牁	kaːl
滒	kaːl
哥	kaːl
歌	kaːl
謌	kaːl
鴚	kaːl
哿	kaːlʔ
舸	kaːlʔ
笴	kaːlʔ, *kaːnʔ
軻	kʰaːl, kʰaːlʔ, kʰaːls
珂	kʰaːl
可	kʰaːlʔ
岢	kʰaːlʔ
坷	kʰaːlʔ, *kʰaːls
蚵	kʰaːls, *ɡaːl
呵	qʰaːl, *qʰaːls
訶	qʰaːl
抲	qʰaːl
荷	qʰaːls, ɡaːl, ɡaːlʔ
何	ɡaːl, *ɡaːlʔ
河	ɡaːl
苛	ɡaːl
魺	ɡaːl
袔	ɡaːls
阿	qaːl
妸	qaːl, *qaːlʔ
疴	qaːl, *kʰraːls
鈳	qaːl
娿	qaːl, *qaːlʔ
痾	qaːl
跒	kʰraːlʔ
閜	qʰraːlʔ

Pictogram (象形): a man carrying something.

Pronunciation 1[edit]

Mandarin

(Standard)

(Pinyin): hé (he²)

(Zhuyin): ㄏㄜˊ

(Chengdu, SP): ho²
Cantonese (Jyutping): ho⁴
Min Dong (BUC): ò̤
Min Nan (POJ): hô / hô͘ / ôa

Mandarin
- (Standard Chinese)⁺
  - Pinyin: hé
  - Zhuyin: ㄏㄜˊ
  - Wade-Giles: ho²
  - Gwoyeu Romatzyh: her
  - IPA ^(key): /xɤ³⁵/
- (Chengdu)
  - Sichuanese Pinyin: ho²
  - Scuanxua Ladinxua Xin Wenz: xo
  - IPA ^(key): /xo²¹/
Cantonese
- (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou)⁺
  - Jyutping: ho⁴
  - Yale: hòh
  - Cantonese Pinyin: ho⁴
  - Guangdong Romanization: ho⁴
  - IPA ^(key): /hɔː²¹/
Min Dong
- (Fuzhou)
  - Bàng-uâ-cê: ò̤
  - IPA ^(key): /o⁵³/
Min Nan
- (Hokkien: Xiamen, Quanzhou, Zhangzhou, mainstream Taiwanese)
  - Pe̍h-ōe-jī: hô
  - Tâi-lô: hô
  - Phofsit Daibuun: hooi
  - IPA (Zhangzhou): /ho¹³/
  - IPA (Xiamen, Quanzhou, Taipei): /ho²⁴/
  - IPA (Kaohsiung): /hɤ²³/
- (Hokkien: Quanzhou)
  - Pe̍h-ōe-jī: hô͘
  - Tâi-lô: hôo
  - Phofsit Daibuun: hoo
  - IPA (Quanzhou): /hɔ²⁴/
- (Hokkien: Xiamen, Quanzhou, Zhangzhou, mainstream Taiwanese)
  - Pe̍h-ōe-jī: ôa
  - Tâi-lô: uâ
  - Phofsit Daibuun: oaa
  - IPA (Kaohsiung): /ua²³/
  - IPA (Zhangzhou): /ua¹³/
  - IPA (Xiamen, Quanzhou, Taipei): /ua²⁴/

Note:

hô/hô͘ - literary;
ôa - vernacular.

Middle Chinese: /ɦɑ/▼

Rime
Character	何
Reading #	1/2
Initial (聲)	匣 (33)
Final (韻)	歌 (94)
Tone (調)	Level (Ø)
Openness (開合)	Open
Division (等)	I
Fanqie	胡歌切
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	hé

Old Chinese▼

(Baxter-Sagart): /*[ɡ]ˤaj/

(Zhengzhang): /*ɡaːl/

Baxter-Sagart system 1.1 (2014)
Character	何
Reading #	1/1
Modern Beijing (Pinyin)	hé
Middle Chinese	‹ ha ›
Old Chinese	/*[ɡ]ˤaj/
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	何
Reading #	1/2
No.	7458
Phonetic component	可
Rime group	歌
Rime subdivision	1
Corresponding MC rime	何
Old Chinese	/*ɡaːl/

Definitions[edit]

何

(interrogative pronoun asking for the specification of an identity, quantity, quality, etc. of something) what; which

何處 / 何处 ― héchù ― where [lit. what place]

何日 ― hérì ― what day; when
- 王曰：“何謂朝雲？” [Classical Chinese, trad.]
  
  王曰：“何谓朝云？” [Classical Chinese, simp.]
  
  From: 宋玉《高唐賦》
  
  Wáng yuē: “Hé wèi cháo yún?” [Pinyin]
  
  The king said, "What is this so-called 'Morning Clouds'?"
(interrogative pronoun asking for reason, manner, etc. of an action) why; how

何必 ― hébì ― why must you

何不 ― hébù ― why not
- 亦何憂令名不彰邪？ [Classical Chinese, trad.]
  
  亦何忧令名不彰邪？ [Classical Chinese, simp.]
  
  From: 劉義慶《世說新語·自新》
  
  Yì hé yōu lìngmíng bù zhāng xié? [Pinyin]
  
  Why do you worry about being not famous?
^† (forming emphatic sentences) so; such; what; how
- 秦皇掃六合，虎視何雄哉。 [Classical Chinese, trad.]
  
  秦皇扫六合，虎视何雄哉。 [Classical Chinese, simp.]
  
  From: 李白《古風》
  
  Qínhuáng sǎo liù hé, hǔshì hé xióng zāi. [Pinyin]
  
  Qin Shi Huang conquered the six kingdoms with a sweeping victory. How great he is when he unified the world and looked down upon it.
A surname.

Synonyms[edit]

Dialectal synonyms of 什麼 (“what”) [map]
Variety	Location	Words edit
Classical Chinese		何
Formal (Written Standard Chinese)		什麼
Mandarin	Beijing	什麼
	Taiwan	什麼
	Tianjin	嘛
	Harbin	啥
	Shenyang	什麼、啥
	Jinan	麼兒、麼、什麼
	Muping	麼、麼個
	Luoyang	啥
	Jiedian	色
	Xi'an	啥
	Xining	啥
	Xuzhou	啥、啥子
	Yinchuan	啥
	Ürümqi	啥
	Wuhan	麼事
	Chengdu	啥、啥子
	Guiyang	哪樣
	Liuzhou	什嗎
	Kunming	什麼
	Nanjing	什麼
	Hefei	哄個
	Nantong	甚呢
Cantonese	Guangzhou	乜、乜嘢、乜嘢嘢、咩、咩嘢
	Hong Kong	乜、乜嘢、乜嘢嘢、咩、咩嘢
	Dongguan	乜、乜嘢
	Taishan	乜
	Yangjiang	乜、乜嘢
Gan	Nanchang	什哩
	Lichuan	什仔
	Pingxiang	咋個
Hakka	Meixian	麼個
	Xingning	麼個
	Huidong	麼個
	Qujiang	麼個
	Xiaosanjiang	麼個
	Changting	麼個
	Pingyu	麼個
	Wuping	麼個
	Liancheng	麼個
	Yudu	子個
	Ruijin	咩、唔幾
	Shicheng	什麼
	Shangyou	哪項、口哪
	Miaoli (N. Sixian)	麼個
	Liudui (S. Sixian)	麼個
	Hsinchu (Hailu)	麼個
	Dongshi (Dabu)	麼個
	Zhuolan (Raoping)	麼個
	Yunlin (Zhao'an)	麼個
Huizhou	Jixi	麼仂
Jin	Taiyuan	甚
Jin	Xinzhou	甚
Min Bei	Jian'ou	孰事、孰麼
Min Dong	Fuzhou	什乇
Min Dong	Matsu	什乇
Min Nan	Xiamen	什物、啥物、啥貨
	Quanzhou	什物、啥物
	Zhangzhou	哪貨仔、哪貨、哪仔、哪物仔、哪物、什物、啥物、啥貨
	Taipei	啥貨、啥物、啥
	Kaohsiung	啥、啥貨、啥物
	Tainan	啥物、啥貨
	Taichung	啥
	Hsinchu	啥
	Lukang	啥物、啥貨
	Sanxia	啥
	Yilan	啥貨
	Kinmen	啥貨、物代
	Magong	啥貨、物代
	Penang	啥物
	Singapore	什物
	Philippines (Manila)	啥物
	Chaozhou	乜個、乜
	Haikou	乜、個乜
	Leizhou	乜
Pinghua	Nanning	門、哪門
Wu	Shanghai	啥、啥個
	Suzhou	啥
	Hangzhou	啥
	Wenzhou	何呢
	Chongming	何
	Danyang	點高
	Jinhua	待、淡
	Ningbo	啥
Xiang	Changsha	麼子
	Shuangfeng	麼子
	Loudi	麼子

Descendants[edit]

(Hokkien dialect) Tagalog: Ho

Pronunciation 2[edit]

Mandarin

(Pinyin): hè (he⁴)

(Zhuyin): ㄏㄜˋ
Cantonese (Jyutping): ho⁶

Mandarin
- (Standard Chinese)⁺
  - Pinyin: hè
  - Zhuyin: ㄏㄜˋ
  - Wade-Giles: ho⁴
  - Gwoyeu Romatzyh: heh
  - IPA ^(key): /xɤ⁵¹/
Cantonese
- (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou)⁺
  - Jyutping: ho⁶
  - Yale: hoh
  - Cantonese Pinyin: ho⁶
  - Guangdong Romanization: ho⁶
  - IPA ^(key): /hɔː²²/

Middle Chinese: /ɦɑ^X/▼

Rime
Character	何
Reading #	2/2
Initial (聲)	匣 (33)
Final (韻)	歌 (94)
Tone (調)	Rising (X)
Openness (開合)	Open
Division (等)	I
Fanqie	胡可切
Reconstructions
Zhengzhang Shangfang	/ɦɑ^X/
Pan Wuyun	/ɦɑ^X/
Shao Rongfen	/ɣɑ^X/
Edwin Pulleyblank	/ɦa^X/
Li Rong	/ɣɑ^X/
Wang Li	/ɣɑ^X/
Bernard Karlgren	/ɣɑ^X/
Expected Mandarin Reflex	hè

Old Chinese▼

(Zhengzhang): /*ɡaːlʔ/

Zhengzhang system (2003)
Character	何
Reading #	2/2
No.	7466
Phonetic component	可
Rime group	歌
Rime subdivision	1
Corresponding MC rime	荷
Old Chinese	/*ɡaːlʔ/
Notes	同荷

Definitions[edit]

何

^† Original form of 荷 (“to carry”).

Pronunciation 3[edit]

Mandarin

(Pinyin): hē (he¹)

(Zhuyin): ㄏㄜ
Cantonese (Jyutping): ho¹

Mandarin
- (Standard Chinese)⁺
  - Pinyin: hē
  - Zhuyin: ㄏㄜ
  - Wade-Giles: ho¹
  - Gwoyeu Romatzyh: he
  - IPA ^(key): /xɤ⁵⁵/
Cantonese
- (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou)⁺
  - Jyutping: ho¹
  - Yale: hō
  - Cantonese Pinyin: ho¹
  - Guangdong Romanization: ho¹
  - IPA ^(key): /hɔː⁵⁵/

Definitions[edit]

何

^† Original form of 呵 (“to scold; to criticise; to denounce”).

Compounds[edit]

Derived terms from 何

不奈何
不知何故
今夕何夕
任何 (rènhé)
何不 (hébù)
何之
何事 (héshì)
何人 (hérén)
何人斯
何仙姑
何以 (héyǐ)
何以克當／何以克当
何以見得／何以见得
何休
何似
何但
何傷／何伤
何其 (héqí)
何則／何则
何功之有
何去何從／何去何从 (héqùhécóng)
何哉
何啻
何嘗／何尝 (hécháng)
何在 (hézài)
何堪
何如 (hérú)
何如帖
何妨 (héfáng)
何居 (héjū)
何常
何干 (hégān)
何年何月
何彼襛矣
何得 (hédé)
何從／何从
何德何能
何必 (hébì)
何意 (héyì)
何所不為／何所不为
何承天
何故 (hégù)
何敢 (hégǎn)
何方 (héfāng)
何時／何时 (héshí)
何晏
何景明
何曾
何有
何期
何極／何极
何樂不為／何乐不为

Japanese[edit]

Kanji[edit]

Readings[edit]

Goon: が (ga)^{←が (ga, historical)}
Kan’on: か (ka, Jōyō)^{←か (ka, historical)}
Kun: なに (nani, 何, Jōyō)^{←なに (nani, historical)}; なん (nan, 何, Jōyō, uncommon)^{←なん (nan, historical)}; いず (izu, 何)^{←いづ (idu, historical)}; いずれ (izure, 何れ)^{←いづれ (idure, historical)}; いずく (izuku, 何く)^{←いづく (iduku, historical)}
Nanori: あが (aga)

Pronunciation[edit]

Kun’yomi
- (Tokyo) なに [náꜜnì] (Atamadaka – [1])^[1]
- IPA^(key): [na̠ɲ̟i]

Kun’yomi
- (Tokyo) なん [náꜜǹ] (Atamadaka – [1])^[1]
- IPA^(key): [nã̠ɴ]

Compounds[edit]

Interjection[edit]

Kanji in this term
何
なに Grade: 2
kun’yomi

何 (hiragana なに, rōmaji nani)

What?, Huh?

Pronoun[edit]

Kanji in this term
何
なん Grade: 2
kun’yomi

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

what
- 794, Shin'yaku Kegonkyō Ongi Shiki (page 92)
  
  汝何所爲奈尓世牟止曽
that thing (used in place of words you can't remember at the moment.)
(used with も) many

この広 (こう)告 (こく)を何 (なん)回 (かい)も見 (み)た

kono kōkoku o nankai mo mita

I've seen this ad many times

Usage notes[edit]

何 is usually read as なに, but before だ, で, の, なり or counters, it is read as なん. When followed by で, both readings are okay.

Derived terms[edit]

Derived terms

References[edit]

Yoshinori Kobayashi, Kojisho Ongi Shūsei 1: Shin'yaku Kegonkyō Ongi Shiki (in Japanese), Kyūko Shoin (published 1978; original text from 794), ISBN 4-7629-3088-1.

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

Korean[edit]

Hanja[edit]

何 • (ha) (hangeul 하, revised ha, McCune-Reischauer ha)

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

Vietnamese[edit]

Han character[edit]

何 (hà, gã)

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

References[edit]

Nom Foundation

[SMK2-1] 1.0 ^1.1 1974, 新明解国語辞典 (Shin Meikai Kokugo Jiten), Second Edition (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Sanseidō

[1]

何

Contents

Translingual[edit]

Han character[edit]

References[edit]

Chinese[edit]

Glyph origin[edit]

Pronunciation 1[edit]

Definitions[edit]

Synonyms[edit]

Descendants[edit]

Pronunciation 2[edit]

Definitions[edit]

Pronunciation 3[edit]

Definitions[edit]

Compounds[edit]

Japanese[edit]

Kanji[edit]

Readings[edit]

Pronunciation[edit]

Compounds[edit]

Interjection[edit]

Pronoun[edit]

Usage notes[edit]

Derived terms[edit]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

Korean[edit]

Hanja[edit]

Vietnamese[edit]

Han character[edit]

References[edit]

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