河

Translingual

Stroke order

Han character

河 (Kangxi radical 85, 水+5, 8 strokes, cangjie input 水一弓口 (EMNR), four-corner 3112₀, composition ⿰氵可)

Derived characters

• 𪷹, 菏

References

• Kangxi Dictionary: page 613, character 9
• Dai Kanwa Jiten: character 30890
• Dae Jaweon: page 1006, character 8
• Hanyu Da Zidian (first edition): volume 3, page 1582, character 3
• Unihan data for U+6CB3

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Chinese

simp. and trad.		河

Glyph origin

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

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

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *ɡaːl) : semantic 氵 (“water”) + phonetic 可 (OC *kʰaːlʔ).

Etymology

Originally particularly used for the Yellow River, with other rivers known as 水 (OC *qʰʷljilʔ). Later extended generally as a word for rivers in northern China but the influence of 江 (OC *kroːŋ, “Yangtze River; river in southern China”) has meant that modern usage tends to favor it for shorter rivers and creeks except in historical cases.

External etymology uncertain. Various hypotheses have been proposed:

• Sino-Tibetan. Cognate with Tibetan རྒལ (rgal, “to cross, to traverse”) (Coblin, 1986).
• An Altaic loan. Compare Proto-Mongolic *gowl (“river”) > Mongolian ᠭᠣᠣᠯ (ɣool, “river”) (Norman and Mei, 1976). This was argued against in Zhang (1998).
• Derived from 湖 (OC *ɡaː, “lake”) (Matisoff, 1995).
• Takashima (2012), citing palaeographical and archaeological evidence, posits that the Yellow River's name stemmed from the shape, which resembles an adze handle 柯 (OC *kaːl), of a stretch spanning 500 to 600 kilometers.

Pronunciation

• Mandarin

  (Standard)

  (Pinyin): hé (he²)

  (Zhuyin): ㄏㄜˊ

  (Chengdu, Sichuanese Pinyin): ho²

  (Dungan, Cyrillic and Wiktionary): хә (hə, I)

• Cantonese (Jyutping): ho⁴

• Gan (Wiktionary): ho²
• Hakka (Sixian, PFS): hò
• Jin (Wiktionary): he¹
• Northern Min (KCR): ǒ̤
• Eastern Min (BUC): ò̤
• Southern Min

  (Hokkien, POJ): hô / hô͘

  (Teochew, Peng'im): ho⁵

• Wu (Wugniu)
  • (Northern): ⁶wu
• Xiang (Changsha, Wiktionary): ho²

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• Mandarin
  • (Standard Chinese)⁺
    • Hanyu Pinyin: hé
    • Zhuyin: ㄏㄜˊ
    • Tongyong Pinyin: hé
    • Wade–Giles: ho²
    • Yale: hé
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: her
    • Palladius: хэ (xɛ)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /xɤ³⁵/
  • (Chengdu)
    • Sichuanese Pinyin: ho²
    • Scuanxua Ladinxua Xin Wenz: xo
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /xo²¹/
  • (Dungan)
    • Cyrillic and Wiktionary: хә (hə, I)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /xə²⁴/

    (Note: Dungan pronunciation is currently experimental and may be inaccurate.)

• Cantonese
  • (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)
    • Jyutping: ho⁴
    • Yale: hòh
    • Cantonese Pinyin: ho⁴
    • Guangdong Romanization: ho⁴
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /hɔː²¹/
• Gan
  • (Nanchang)
    • Wiktionary: ho²
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /ho²⁴/
• Hakka
  • (Sixian, incl. Miaoli and Meinong)
    • Pha̍k-fa-sṳ: hò
    • Hakka Romanization System: hoˇ
    • Hagfa Pinyim: ho²
    • Sinological IPA: /ho¹¹/
• Jin
  • (Taiyuan)⁺
    • Wiktionary: he¹
    • Sinological IPA (old-style): /xɤ¹¹/
• Northern Min
  • (Jian'ou)
    • Kienning Colloquial Romanized: ǒ̤
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /ɔ²¹/
• Eastern Min
  • (Fuzhou)
    • Bàng-uâ-cê: ò̤
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /o⁵³/
• Southern Min
  • (Hokkien: Xiamen, Quanzhou, Zhangzhou, General 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/
  • (Teochew)
    • Peng'im: ho⁵
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī-like: hô
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /ho⁵⁵/
• Wu
  • (Shanghai):
    • Wugniu: ⁶wu
    • MiniDict: wu^去
    • Wiktionary Romanisation (Shanghai): ³hhu
    • Sinological IPA (Shanghai): /ɦu²³/
• Xiang
  • (Changsha)
    • Wiktionary: ho²
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /xo¹³/

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• Dialectal data

Variety	Location	edit 河
Mandarin	Beijing	/xɤ³⁵/
	Harbin	/xɤ²⁴/
	Tianjin	/xɤ⁴⁵/
	Jinan	/xə⁴²/
	Qingdao	/xə⁴²/ 新 /xuə⁴²/ 老
	Zhengzhou	/xɤ⁴²/
	Xi'an	/xuo²⁴/
	Xining	/xu²⁴/
	Yinchuan	/xə⁵³/
	Lanzhou	/xə⁵³/
	Ürümqi	/xɤ⁵¹/
	Wuhan	/xuo²¹³/
	Chengdu	/xo³¹/
	Guiyang	/xo²¹/
	Kunming	/xo³¹/
	Nanjing	/xo²⁴/
	Hefei	/xʊ⁵⁵/
Jin	Taiyuan	/xɤ¹¹/
	Pingyao	/xɔ¹³/ /xei¹³/
	Hohhot	/xɤ³¹/
Wu	Shanghai	/vu²³/
	Suzhou	/ɦəu¹³/
	Hangzhou	/ɦo²¹³/
	Wenzhou	/vu³¹/
Hui	Shexian	/xo⁴⁴/
	Tunxi	/xo⁴⁴/
Xiang	Changsha	/xo¹³/
	Xiangtan	/ɦo¹²/
Gan	Nanchang	/ho²⁴/
Hakka	Meixian	/ho¹¹/
	Taoyuan	/ho¹¹/
Cantonese	Guangzhou	/hɔ²¹/
	Nanning	/hɔ²¹/
	Hong Kong	/hɔ²¹/
Min	Xiamen (Hokkien)	/ho³⁵/ /o³⁵/
	Fuzhou (Eastern Min)	/o⁵³/
	Jian'ou (Northern Min)	/ɔ²¹/
	Shantou (Teochew)	/ho⁵⁵/
	Haikou (Hainanese)	/ho³¹/

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• Middle Chinese: ha

Rime
Character	河
Reading #	1/1
Initial (聲)	匣 (33)
Final (韻)	歌 (94)
Tone (調)	Level (Ø)
Openness (開合)	Open
Division (等)	I
Fanqie	胡歌切
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	hé
Expected Cantonese Reflex	ho4

• Old Chinese

  (Baxter–Sagart): /*[C.ɡ]ˤaj/

  (Zhengzhang): /*ɡaːl/

Baxter–Sagart system 1.1 (2014)
Character	河
Reading #	1/1
Modern Beijing (Pinyin)	hé
Middle Chinese	‹ ha ›
Old Chinese	/*[C.ɡ]ˁaj/
English	river
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	河
Reading #	1/1
No.	7459
Phonetic component	可
Rime group	歌
Rime subdivision	1
Corresponding MC rime	何
Old Chinese	/*ɡaːl/

Definitions

(deprecated template usage) 河

1. ^† Yellow River
   1. ^† (Chinese mythology) Hebo; the god of the Yellow River
   2. ^† (Chinese mythology) Yellow River's Map; the plan of the Yellow River (mystic diagram said to have been supernaturally revealed)
2. (by extension) river, especially a smaller river, creek, or stream, as distinguished from 江 and 川

   河流  ―  héliú  ―  river

   小河  ―  xiǎo hé  ―  small river, stream

3. streamside; riverside
4. ^† (figurative) Milky Way
5. (chiefly Cantonese) Short for 河粉 (héfěn).

   乾炒牛河／干炒牛河 [Cantonese]  ―  gon¹ caau² ngau⁴ ho^4-2 [Jyutping]  ―  beef chow fun

6. He; Ho

Compounds

(deprecated template usage)

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Japanese

Kanji

河

(grade 5 “Kyōiku” kanji)

1. river

Readings

• Go-on: が (ga)
• Kan-on: か (ka, Jōyō)
• Kun: かわ (kawa, 河, Jōyō)
• Nanori: こ (ko); こう (kō)

Compounds

Compounds

• 運河(うんが) (unga): canal
• 河馬(かば) (kaba): a hippopotamus
• 銀河(ぎんが) (ginga): a galaxy; the Milky Way
• 決河(けっか) (kekka): the act of a river breaching a dike or dam due to flood; a river thus overflowing
• 山河(さんが) (sanga): mountains and rivers

• 大(たい)河(が) (taiga): a large river
• 渡河(とか) (toka): the act of fording a river
• 氷河(ひょうが) (hyōga): a glacier
• 河豚(ふぐ) (fugu), 河豚(かとん) (katon): a fugu, a blowfish or pufferfish

Etymology 1

Kanji in this term
河
かわ Grade: 5
kun’yomi

For pronunciation and definitions of 河 – see the following entry.

【川かわ】1 [noun] river, stream, brook

(This term, 河, is an alternative spelling of the above term.)

Etymology 2

Kanji in this term
河
か Grade: 5
on’yomi

Affix

河(か) • (ka) 

1. river

Etymology 3

Kanji in this term
河
ホー Grade: 5
irregular

From Chinese 河 (hé). The pronunciation is most similar to Cantonese /hɔː²¹/, although most Japanese mahjong terminology is taken from early 20th Century Mandarin.

Noun

河(ホー) or 河(ホウ) • (hō) 

1. (mahjong) river: a player's discard pile

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Korean

Hanja

河 • (ha) (hangeul 하)

1. River

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Vietnamese

Han character

河: Hán Việt readings: hà (寒(hàn)歌(ca)切(thiết))
河: Nôm readings: hà

1. Template:han tu form of

Compounds

Compounds

• 河北 (Hà Bắc)
• 河馬 (hà mã)
• 河南 (Hà Nam)
• 河內 (Hà Nội)
• 河仙 (Hà Tiên)
• 河僊 (Hà Tiên)
• 北河 (Bắc Hà)
• 冰河 (băng hà)
• 南河 (Nam Hà)
• 銀河 (Ngân Hà)
• 天河 (thiên hà)