和

咊/龢

hé, hè, hú, huó, huò

口 + 禾

HSK 2.0Level 1

HSK 3.0Level 1

Definitions

hé (particle) and; with; together with

hé (noun) peace; harmony

hé (noun,verb) sum; to add up

huó (verb) to mix with water

huò (verb) to mix; to blend

hè (verb) to join in singing; to chime in

Etymology

Phonosemantic compound. 口 represents the meaning and 禾 represents the sound.

Semantic: 口 Phonetic: 禾

About

和 is a phono-semantic compound: 口 (mouth) suggests speech or eating, while 禾 (grain) gives the sound. Its core meaning, harmony, first described voices or musical instruments blending seamlessly, later extending to peace and conciliation. It commonly acts as the conjunction "and" to join nouns or noun phrases, and as the preposition "with" to indicate companionship. In other contexts, alternate pronunciations refer to mixing ingredients or completing a set in certain tile games.

Etymology Hide

Bronze Late Warring States (~250 BC)

Seal Chu (Warring States: 475-221 BC)

Seal Shuowen (~100 AD)

Clerical Qin dynasty (221-206 BC)

Clerical Western Han dynasty (202 BC-9 AD)

Clerical Eastern Han dynasty (25-220 AD)

Traditional Modern

Simplified Modern

Example Sentences Hide

我和你去公园。

Wǒ hé nǐ qù gōngyuán.

You and I go to the park.

苹果和香蕉都很甜。

Píngguǒ hé xiāngjiāo dōu hěn tián.

Apples and bananas are both sweet.

我们热爱和平。

Wǒmen rè'ài hépíng.

We love peace.

社会需要和谐。

Shèhuì xūyào héxié.

Society needs harmony.

他和朋友和解了。

Tā hé péngyǒu héjiě le.

He reconciled with his friend.

这首歌的旋律很柔和。

Zhè shǒu gē de xuánlǜ hěn róuhé.

The melody of this song is very soft.

天气和心情都很好。

Tiānqì hé xīnqíng dōu hěn hǎo.

The weather and mood are both good.

通过对话和合作，我们能解决分歧。

Tōngguò duìhuà hé hézuò, wǒmen néng jiějué fēnqí.

Through dialogue and cooperation, we can resolve differences.

Related Characters

Composed characters:

Component: 口

Component: 禾

和