へ

See also: べ, ぺ, ヘ, and 乀

へ U+3078, へ HIRAGANA LETTER HE ← ぷ [U+3077] Hiragana べ → [U+3079]

Japanese

Stroke order

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [he̞]

Etymology 1

Derived in the Heian period from writing the man'yōgana kanji 部 in the cursive sōsho style.

Syllable

へ • (he) 

1. The hiragana syllable へ (he). Its equivalent in katakana is ヘ (he). It is the twenty-ninth syllable in the gojūon order; its position is は行え段 (ha-gyō e-dan, “row ha, section e”).

Derived terms

• べ (be)
• ぺ (pe)

See also

• (Hiragana) 平仮名; あぁ, いぃ, うぅゔ, えぇ, おぉ, かゕが, きぎ, くぐ, けゖげ, こご, さざ, しじ, すず, せぜ, そぞ, ただ, ちぢ, つっづ, てで, とど, な, に, ぬ, ね, の, はばぱ, ひびぴ, ふぶぷ, へべぺ, ほぼぽ, ま, み, む, め, も, やゃ, ゆゅ, よょ, ら, り, る, れ, ろ, わゎ, ゐ, ゑ, を, ん, ー, ゝ, ゞ, ゟ

Etymology 2

⟨pe₁⟩ → */pʲe/ → /ɸe/ → /we/ → /e/

From Old Japanese. Derives from the noun 辺(へ) (he, “place, general area, vicinity”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [e̞]

• IPA^(key): [je̞] (by some speakers following a moraic nasal or -e)
• Homophone: え

Particle

へ • (e) 

1. to, towards (indicates a destination or movement toward something)

   日(に)本(ほん)へようこそ!

   Nihon e yōkoso!

   Welcome to Japan!

   銀(ぎん)行(こう)へ行(い)った。

   Ginkō e itta.

   [I] went to the bank.

   トランプ氏(し)勝(か)つ、第(だい)45(よんじゅうご)代(だい)米(べい)大(だい)統(とう)領(りょう)へ[1]

   Toranpu-shi katsu, dai-yonjūgo-dai Bei-daitōryō e

   Trump wins, will be the 45th President of the US

Synonyms

• に (ni): to, at

  In the sense indicating destination, the particles へ (e) and に (ni) are often interchangeable, though there is a slight difference of connotation or emphasis. へ (e) emphasizes the journey to the destination, while に (ni) emphasizes the arrival at the destination.

Etymology 3

Reading of various kanji.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [he̞]

Noun

へ • (he) 

1. 戸: a house; a household
2. 綜: a heddle of a loom
3. 辺, 方: a place, a location; nearby
4. 屁: a fart, gas, wind
5. 瓮: a jar, a jug
6. 竈: a cooking stove
7. 舳: the prow of a boat or ship
8. 重: division