About

The Chinese word **贺卡 (hèkǎ)**, meaning "greeting card," is a compound noun formed through a straightforward and logical combination of two morphemes: **贺 (hè)**, which means "to congratulate" or "to celebrate," and **卡 (kǎ)**, a phonetic loan character meaning "card." In this modifier-head structure, the first character **贺** acts as an attributive modifier describing the purpose or type of the second character **卡**, which functions as the core noun. Therefore, the compound literally translates to "congratulation card," efficiently and transparently conveying its specific meaning through the sum of its parts, which is a typical feature of modern Chinese word formation.

Word Definition - 贺卡

hè kǎ greeting card; congratulation card

Individual Character Details