Definitions
(particle)
what; how; why; which
Etymology
Depiction of a man carrying an axe on over his shoulders. The right side of the form was later phoneticized into 可. The current meaning "what" is a phonetic loan.
About
The character 何, structured with the person radical 亻 combined with 可, originates from an early pictorial concept representing a person carrying a load on the shoulder, which established its initial meaning as a verb meaning "to carry" or "to bear". Over time, this original semantic function diminished as the character was adopted for its phonetic value to serve as an interrogative pronoun, leading to its dominant modern meanings of "what" or "how", a transition that effectively redirected its linguistic role from a concrete action to an abstract question word, while its graphical form has maintained the same fundamental components throughout its history.
Etymology Hide
Example Sentences Hide
为何这样做？
你如何学习中文？
会议何时何地举行？
何必如此着急？
何不试试看？
我何尝不想去？
他的优点何止这些？
对于这个问题，你有何看法？