何 hé what
what; why; how
How to remember 何: 亻 person + 可 may = what. The confused person reads the sign "Dogs may not enter", looks at his cat and wonders what now.
Component breakdown
何 = 亻 person + 可 may
- 亻 person
- 可 may
- 丁 nail
- 口 mouth
The confused person reads the sign "Dogs may not enter", looks at his cat and wonders what now.
How it came to be
A person carrying a load, slung on a pole over the shoulder. It meant to carry until it was borrowed for the question word; the load moved to the character for lotus, with grass added.
How it is used
- Literary 'what / how / why,' surviving in fixed expressions: 如何 (rúhé) how, 为何 (wèihé) why, 何必 (hébì) why bother, 何况 (hékuàng) let alone.
- 任何 (rènhé) any.
- Formal/written; spoken Mandarin uses 什么 / 怎么 / 为什么 instead.
Characters built with 何
Words with 何
Example sentences
- 我想去任何地方。 Wǒ xiǎng qù rènhé dìfang.I want to go somewhere.
- 无论天气如何，他都去跑步。 Wúlùn tiānqì rúhé, tā dōu qù pǎobù.No matter what the weather, he always goes jogging.