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]

TranslingualEdit

Stroke order
 
Stroke order
 

Han characterEdit

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

Derived charactersEdit

ReferencesEdit

  • 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

ChineseEdit

simp. and trad.
 何
alternative forms ⿰彳可

Glyph originEdit

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

Small seal script
 

s05736

Transcribed ancient scripts
 

L32362

 

L08383

 

L08384

 

L08385

 

L08386

 

L08387

 

L08377

 

L08378

 

L08379

 

L08380

 

L08381

 

L08382

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).
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 – original form of 荷 (OC *ɡaːlʔ, “to carry”).

EtymologyEdit

Cognate with the following interrogative pronouns:

  • 胡 (OC *ɡaː, “what; why”)
  • 奚 (OC *ɡeː, “what; why; where”)
  • 曷 (OC *ɡaːd, “why”)
  • 盍 (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 何 (OC *ɡaːlʔ) to Proto-Sino-Tibetan *ka (“which; like; diectic; interrogative”), to which 幾 (OC *kɯlʔ, “how many”) and 豈 (OC *ŋ̊ʰɯlʔ, “how”) are also compared.

Pronunciation 1Edit

Note:
  • hô/hô͘ - literary (incl. surname);
  • ôa - vernacular.
  • Wu
    • 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
    Expected
    Cantonese
    Reflex         		ho4
    Baxter–Sagart system 1.1 (2014)
    Character 何
    Reading # 1/1
    Modern
    Beijing
    (Pinyin)         		hé
    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 何
    Reading # 1/2
    No. 7458
    Phonetic
    component         		可
    Rime
    group         		歌
    Rime
    subdivision         		1
    Corresponding
    MC rime         		何
    Old
    Chinese         		/*ɡaːl/

    DefinitionsEdit

    何

    1. (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
    2. where; what place
    3. (interrogative pronoun asking for reason, manner, etc. of an action) why; how
      何必  ―  hébì  ―  why must you
      何不  ―  hébù  ―  why not
    4. † (forming emphatic sentences) so; such; what; how
    5. A surname​.
      何應欽 / 何应钦  ―  Hé Yìngqīn  ―  He Yingqin (Kuomintang general)
    QuotationsEdit
    SynonymsEdit

    CompoundsEdit

    DescendantsEdit

    • → Tagalog: Ho (Hokkien dialect)

    Pronunciation 2Edit

    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         		/ɦɑX/
    Pan
    Wuyun         		/ɦɑX/
    Shao
    Rongfen         		/ɣɑX/
    Edwin
    Pulleyblank         		/ɦaX/
    Li
    Rong         		/ɣɑX/
    Wang
    Li         		/ɣɑX/
    Bernard
    Karlgren         		/ɣɑX/
    Expected
    Mandarin
    Reflex         		hè
    Expected
    Cantonese
    Reflex         		ho6
    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

    DefinitionsEdit

    何

    1. † Original form of 荷 (“to carry”).

    Pronunciation 3Edit

    DefinitionsEdit

    何

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

    ReferencesEdit

    JapaneseEdit

    KanjiEdit

    何

    (grade 2 “Kyōiku” kanji)

    1. what

    ReadingsEdit

    PronunciationEdit

    CompoundsEdit

    InterjectionEdit

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

    何(なに) • (nani) 

    1. What?, Huh?


    PronounEdit

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

    何(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 notesEdit

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

    Derived termsEdit

    Related termsEdit

    See alsoEdit

    Japanese demonstratives
    ko-
    “this”
    (close to speaker)         		so-
    “that”
    (close to listener)         		a-
    “that over there”
    (far from both)         		do-
    “which”
    (indeterminate, question)
    Object これ (kore) それ (sore) あれ (are) どれ (dore)
    これら (korera) それら (sorera) あれら (arera) —
    Determiner この (kono) その (sono) あの (ano) どの (dono)
    これらの (korera no) それらの (sorera no) あれらの (arera no) —
    Kind こんな (konna) そんな (sonna) あんな (anna) どんな (donna)
    Place ここ (koko) そこ (soko) あそこ (asoko)* どこ (doko)
    こっから (kokkara) そっから (sokkara) — どっから (dokkara)
    Direction こちら (kochira) そちら (sochira) あちら (achira) どちら (dochira)
    こっち (kotchi) そっち (sotchi) あっち (atchi) どっち (dotchi)
    Human こいつ (koitsu) そいつ (soitsu) あいつ (aitsu) どいつ (doitsu)
    こちら様 (kochirasama) そちら様 (sochirasama) あちら様 (achirasama) どちら様 (dochirasama)
    Manner こう (kō) そう (sō) ああ (ā)** どう (dō)
    Degree こんくらい (konkurai) そんくらい (sonkurai) あんくらい (ankurai) どんくらい (donkurai)
    こんだけ (kondake) そんだけ (sondake) あんだけ (andake) どんだけ (dondake)
    * irregular
    ** regular (long vowel)
    The kanji 此(こ) (ko), 其(そ) (so), 彼(あ) (a), and 何(ど) (do) can be used for determiners, but they are almost always spelled in hiragana.
    Classical Japanese pronouns and demonstratives
    a-/wa-
    “I, we”
    (first person)         		na-/-ma-
    “you, ye, thou”
    (second person)         		k-
    “this”
    (close to speaker)         		s-
    “that”
    (close to listener)         		a-/ka-
    “that over there”
    (far from both)         		i-/ta-/nani-
    “who, what, where, how, when”
    (interrogative)         		ono-
    “oneself”
    (reflexive)
    Person あ (a)
    あれ (are)
    わ (wa)
    われ (ware)
    まろ (maro)     		な (na)
    なれ (nare)
    なんぢ (nanji)
    まし (mashi)
    いまし (imashi)
    みまし (mimashi)
    きみ (kimi)     		こ (ko)
    これ (kore)     		そ (so)
    それ (sore)     		あ (a)
    あれ (are)
    か (ka)
    かれ (kare)     		た (ta)
    たれ (tare)
    なにがし (nanigashi)     		おの (ono)
    おのれ (onore)
    Thing こ (ko)
    これ (kore)     		そ (so)
    それ (sore)     		あ (a)
    あれ (are)
    か (ka)
    かれ (kare)     		いづれ (izure)
    なに (nani)
    Location ここ (koko) そこ (soko) あしこ (ashiko)
    かしこ (kashiko)     		いづく (izuku)
    いづこ (izuko)
    いどこ (idoko)
    どこ (doko)
    Direction こち (kochi)
    こなた (konata)     		そち (sochi)
    そなた (sonata)     		あち (achi)
    あなた (anata)
    かなた (kanata)     		いづち (izuchi)
    いづら (izura)
    いづかた (izukata)
    Manner か (ka)
    かく (kaku)
    かくて (kakute)
    かう (kō)     		さ (sa)
    さて (sate)
    しか (shika)     		いか (ika)
    Time いつ (itsu)

    PrefixEdit

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

    何(なん) • (nan-) 

    1. what number, how many (used with a counter)
    2. (used with も) many (used with a counter)
      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

    Derived termsEdit

    ReferencesEdit

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

    KoreanEdit

    EtymologyEdit

    From Middle Chinese 何 (MC ɦɑ).

    HanjaEdit

    Korean Wikisource has texts containing the hanja:

    Wikisource

    何 (eumhun 어찌 하 (eojji ha))

    1. Hanja form? of 하 (“how; what”).

    CompoundsEdit

    Compounds

    ReferencesEdit

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

    KunigamiEdit

    KanjiEdit

    何

    ReadingsEdit

    PronunciationEdit

    PronounEdit

    何 (hiragana ぬー, rōmaji nū)

    1. what

    MiyakoEdit

    KanjiEdit

    何

    ReadingsEdit

    PronunciationEdit

    PronounEdit

    何 (hiragana のー, rōmaji nō)

    1. what

    OkinawanEdit

    KanjiEdit

    何

    (grade 2 “Kyōiku” kanji)

    ReadingsEdit

    PronunciationEdit

    PronounEdit

    何 (hiragana ぬー, rōmaji nū)

    1. what

    VietnameseEdit

    Han characterEdit

    何: Hán Nôm readings: hà, gã, há

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

    ReferencesEdit

    YaeyamaEdit

    KanjiEdit

    何

    ReadingsEdit

    PronunciationEdit

    PronounEdit

    何 (hiragana のー, rōmaji nō)

    1. what

    YonaguniEdit

    KanjiEdit

    何

    ReadingsEdit

    PronunciationEdit

    PronounEdit

    何 (hiragana ぬー, rōmaji nū)

    1. what
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