See also: , , , and
U+4F55, 何
CJK UNIFIED IDEOGRAPH-4F55

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

Translingual edit

Stroke order
 
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 Dictionary: 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 (會意会意) and phono-semantic compound (形聲形声, OC *ɡaːl, *ɡaːlʔ): semantic (person) + phonetic (OC *koːl, dagger-axe).

In the bronze inscriptions, some forms of the character were phono-semantic compound (形聲形声, 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; deictic; 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
        ―  cóng  ―  what course to follow or take
    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)
      鸿 [Cantonese]  ―  ho4 hung4 san1 [Jyutping]  ―  Stanley Ho (Hong Kong billionaire)
    Quotations edit
    Synonyms edit

    Compounds edit

    Descendants edit

    • English: He, Ho
    • 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.)

    Adverb edit

    (なに) (nani

    1. (in the negative) any, whatsoever, at all
      不自由なくnani fujiyū nakuwithout any inconvenience

    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 ) 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 Kindaichi, Kyōsuke et al., editors (1974) 新明解国語辞典 [Shin Meikai Kokugo Jiten] (in Japanese), Second edition, Tōkyō: Sanseidō

    Korean edit

    Etymology edit

    From Middle Chinese (MC ha).

    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

    (grade 2 “Kyōiku” kanji)

    Readings edit

    Pronunciation edit

    Pronoun edit

    (ぬー) (

    1. what

    Miyako edit

    Kanji edit

    (grade 2 “Kyōiku” kanji)

    Readings edit

    Pronunciation edit

    Pronoun edit

    (のー) (

    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

    (grade 2 “Kyōiku” kanji)

    Readings edit

    Pronunciation edit

    Pronoun edit

    (のー) (

    1. what

    Yonaguni edit

    Kanji edit

    (grade 2 “Kyōiku” kanji)

    Readings edit

    Pronunciation edit

    Pronoun edit

    (ぬー) (

    1. what