何

See also: 伺, 向, 同, and 回

何 U+4F55, 何 CJK UNIFIED IDEOGRAPH-4F55 ← 佔 [U+4F54] CJK Unified Ideographs 佖 → [U+4F56]

Translingual

Stroke order

Stroke order

Han character

何 (Kangxi radical 9, 人+5, 7 strokes, cangjie input 人一弓口 (OMNR), four-corner 2122₀, composition ⿰亻可)

Derived characters

• 哬, 荷, 𢬲, 𣒍, 𣵣, 𧨂, 𥮆, 𢚨, 𨵅
• 𭨸, 𫱖, 𫳵

References

• 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

simp. and trad.		何
alternative forms		⿰彳可

Glyph origin

Historical forms of the character 何
Shang		Western Zhou	Warring States		Shuowen Jiezi (compiled in Han)	Liushutong (compiled in Ming)
Bronze inscriptions	Oracle bone script	Bronze inscriptions	Bronze inscriptions	Chu slip and silk script	Small seal script	Transcribed ancient scripts
Oracle bone script j18879 j18880 j18881 j18882 j18883 j18884 j18885 j18886 j18887 j18888 j18889 j18890 j18891 j18892 j18893 j18894 j18895 j18896 j18897 j18898 j18899 j18901 j18902 j18903 j18904 j18905 j18906 j18907 j18908 j18909 j18910 j18911 j18913 j18914 j18915 j18916 j18917 j18918 j18919 j18920 j18921 j18922 j18923 j18924 j18925 j18926 j18927 j18928 j18929 j18930 j18931 Bronze inscriptions b12289 b12290 Small seal script s05736 Transcribed ancient scripts L32362 L08383 L08384 L08385 L08386 L08387 L08377 L08378 L08379 L08380 L08381 L08382
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).

Characters in the same phonetic series (可) (Zhengzhang, 2003) 

	Old Chinese
砢	*ɡ·raːlʔ
柯	*kaːl
菏	*kaːl, *ɡaːl
牁	*kaːl
滒	*kaːl
哥	*kaːl
歌	*kaːl
謌	*kaːl
鴚	*kaːl
哿	*kaːlʔ
舸	*kaːlʔ
笴	*kaːlʔ, *kaːnʔ
軻	*kʰaːl, *kʰaːlʔ, *kʰaːls
珂	*kʰaːl
可	*kʰaːlʔ
岢	*kʰaːlʔ
坷	*kʰaːlʔ, *kʰaːls
蚵	*kʰaːls, *ɡaːl
呵	*qʰaːl, *qʰaːls
訶	*qʰaːl
抲	*qʰaːl
荷	*qʰaːls, *ɡaːl, *ɡaːlʔ
何	*ɡaːl, *ɡaːlʔ
河	*ɡaːl
苛	*ɡaːl
魺	*ɡaːl
袔	*ɡaːls
阿	*qaːl
妸	*qaːl, *qaːlʔ
疴	*qaːl, *kʰraːls
鈳	*qaːl
娿	*qaːl, *qaːlʔ
痾	*qaːl
跒	*kʰraːlʔ
閜	*qʰraːlʔ

In the oracle bone script, a pictogram (象形) : a man carrying something on their shoulder – the original form of 荷 (OC *ɡaːlʔ, “to carry”).

The object being carried may have been 戈 (gē), 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 人 (“person”) + phonetic 戈 (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 人 (“person”) + phonetic 可 (OC *kʰaːlʔ), from which the modern form derives.

Etymology

Cognate with the following interrogative pronouns:

• 胡 (OC *ɡaː, “what; why”)
• 奚 (OC *ɡeː, “what; why; where”)
• 曷 (OC *ɡaːd, “why”)
• 盍 (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 何 (OC *ɡaːlʔ) to Proto-Sino-Tibetan *ka (“which; like; deictic; interrogative”), to which 幾 (OC *kɯlʔ, “how many”) and 豈 (OC *ŋ̊ʰɯlʔ, “how”) are also compared.

Pronunciation 1

• Mandarin

  (Standard)

  (Pinyin): hé (he²)

  (Zhuyin): ㄏㄜˊ

  (Chengdu, Sichuanese Pinyin): ho²

• Cantonese

  (Guangzhou–Hong Kong, Jyutping): ho⁴

  (Taishan, Wiktionary): ho³

• Hakka

  (Sixian, PFS): hò

  (Hailu, HRS): ho

  (Meixian, Guangdong): ho²

• Northern Min (KCR): ǒ̤
• Eastern Min (BUC): ò̤
• Puxian Min (Pouseng Ping'ing): hor² / ua²
• Southern Min

  (Hokkien, POJ): hô / hô͘ / ôa

  (Teochew, Peng'im): ho⁵

  (Leizhou, Leizhou Pinyin): ho⁵

• Wu (Shanghai, Wugniu): ⁶wu; ⁶gha
• Xiang (Changsha, Wiktionary): ho² / o²

---

• Mandarin
  • (Standard Chinese)⁺
    • Hanyu Pinyin: hé
    • Zhuyin: ㄏㄜˊ
    • Tongyong Pinyin: hé
    • Wade–Giles: ho²
    • Yale: hé
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: her
    • Palladius: хэ (xɛ)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /xɤ³⁵/
  • (Chengdu)
    • Sichuanese Pinyin: ho²
    • Scuanxua Ladinxua Xin Wenz: xo
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /xo²¹/
• Cantonese
  • (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)
    • Jyutping: ho⁴
    • Yale: hòh
    • Cantonese Pinyin: ho⁴
    • Guangdong Romanization: ho⁴
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /hɔː²¹/
  • (Taishanese, Taicheng)
    • Wiktionary: ho³
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /hᵘɔ²²/
• Hakka
  • (Sixian, incl. Miaoli and Neipu)
    • Pha̍k-fa-sṳ: hò
    • Hakka Romanization System: ho^ˇ
    • Hagfa Pinyim: ho²
    • Sinological IPA: /ho¹¹/
  • (Hailu, incl. Zhudong)
    • Hakka Romanization System: ho
    • Sinological IPA: /ho⁵⁵/
  • (Meixian)
    • Guangdong: ho²
    • Sinological IPA: /ho¹¹/
• Northern Min
  • (Jian'ou)
    • Kienning Colloquial Romanized: ǒ̤
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /ɔ²¹/
• Eastern Min
  • (Fuzhou)
    • Bàng-uâ-cê: ò̤
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /o⁵³/
• Puxian Min
  • (Putian, Xianyou)
    • Pouseng Ping'ing: hor²
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /hɒ¹³/
  • (Putian, Xianyou)
    • Pouseng Ping'ing: ua²
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /ua¹³/

Note:

• hor2 - literary;
• ua2 - vernacular (incl. surname).

• Southern Min
  • (Hokkien: Xiamen, Quanzhou, Zhangzhou, General Taiwanese)
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: hô
    • Tâi-lô: hô
    • Phofsit Daibuun: hooi
    • IPA (Zhangzhou): /ho¹³/
    • IPA (Xiamen, Quanzhou, Taipei): /ho²⁴/
    • IPA (Kaohsiung): /hɤ²³/
  • (Hokkien: Quanzhou)
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: hô͘
    • Tâi-lô: hôo
    • Phofsit Daibuun: hoo
    • IPA (Quanzhou): /hɔ²⁴/
  • (Hokkien: Xiamen, Quanzhou, Zhangzhou, General Taiwanese)
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: ôa
    • Tâi-lô: uâ
    • Phofsit Daibuun: oaa
    • IPA (Kaohsiung): /ua²³/
    • IPA (Zhangzhou): /ua¹³/
    • IPA (Xiamen, Quanzhou, Taipei): /ua²⁴/

Note:

• hô/hô͘ - literary (incl. surname);
• ôa - vernacular.

• (Teochew)
  • Peng'im: ho⁵
  • Pe̍h-ōe-jī-like: hô
  • Sinological IPA ^(key): /ho⁵⁵/
• (Leizhou)
  • Leizhou Pinyin: ho⁵
  • Sinological IPA: /hɔ²²/
• Wu
  • (Northern: Shanghai)
    • Wugniu: ⁶wu; ⁶gha
    • MiniDict: wu^去; gha^去
    • Wiktionary Romanisation (Shanghai): ³hhu; ³hha
    • Sinological IPA (Shanghai): /ɦu²³/, /ɦa²³/
• Xiang
  • (Changsha)
    • Wiktionary: ho² / o²
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /xo¹³/, /o¹³/

---

• Middle Chinese: ha

Rime
Character	何
Reading #	1/2
Initial (聲)	匣 (33)
Final (韻)	歌 (94)
Tone (調)	Level (Ø)
Openness (開合)	Open
Division (等)	I
Fanqie	胡歌切
Baxter	ha
Reconstructions
Zhengzhang Shangfang	/ɦɑ/
Pan Wuyun	/ɦɑ/
Shao Rongfen	/ɣɑ/
Edwin Pulleyblank	/ɦa/
Li Rong	/ɣɑ/
Wang Li	/ɣɑ/
Bernhard Karlgren	/ɣɑ/
Expected Mandarin Reflex	hé
Expected Cantonese Reflex	ho4

• Old Chinese

  (Baxter–Sagart): /*[ɡ]ˤaj/

  (Zhengzhang): /*ɡaːl/

Baxter–Sagart system 1.1 (2014)
Character	何
Reading #	1/1
Modern Beijing (Pinyin)	hé
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	何
Reading #	1/2
No.	7458
Phonetic component	可
Rime group	歌
Rime subdivision	1
Corresponding MC rime	何
Old Chinese	/*ɡaːl/

Definitions

何

1. (literary, interrogative pronoun asking for the specification of an identity, quantity, quality, etc. of something) what; which

   何處／何处  ―  héchù  ―  where [lit. what place]

   何日  ―  hérì  ―  what day; when

   • 伯夷、叔齊何人也？ [Classical Chinese, trad.]
     伯夷、叔齐何人也？ [Classical Chinese, simp.]

     From: The Analects of Confucius, c. 475 – 221 BCE, translated based on James Legge's version

     Bó Yí, Shū Qí hérén yě? [Pinyin]

     What sort of men were Bo Yi and Shu Qi?

   • 王曰：「何謂朝雲？」 [Classical Chinese, trad.]
     王曰：「何谓朝云？」 [Classical Chinese, simp.]

     From: Song Yu, 高唐賦

     Wáng yuē: “Héwèi zhāo yún?” [Pinyin]

     The king said, "What is this so-called 'Morning Clouds'?"

   • 大王來何操？ [Classical Chinese, trad.]
     大王来何操？ [Classical Chinese, simp.]

     From: The Records of the Grand Historian, by Sima Qian, c. 91 BCE

     Dàwáng lái hé cāo? [Pinyin]

     Your Majesty, what did you bring along?

2. (literary) where; what place

   何去何從／何去何从  ―  héqùhécóng  ―  what course to follow or take

   • 忠且見棄，軫不之楚何歸乎？ [Classical Chinese, trad.]
     忠且见弃，轸不之楚何归乎？ [Classical Chinese, simp.]

     From: The Records of the Grand Historian, by Sima Qian, c. 91 BCE

     Zhōng qiě jiàn qì, zhěn bù zhī chǔ hé guī hū? [Pinyin]

     Being loyal to the state yet still abandoned, where can I (Chen Zhen) go if I do not go to Chu?

   • 士生於世，使其中不自得，將何往而非病？ [Classical Chinese, trad.]
     士生于世，使其中不自得，将何往而非病？ [Classical Chinese, simp.]

     From: 1083, 蘇轍 (Su Zhe), 黃州快哉亭記

     Shì shēng yú shì, shǐ qí zhōng bù zìdé, jiāng hé wǎng ér fēi bìng? [Pinyin]

     If an intellectual living in the world does not feel happy, where can he go and not feel anxious?

3. (literary, interrogative pronoun asking for reason, manner, etc. of an action) why; how

   何必  ―  hébì  ―  why must you

   何不  ―  hébù  ―  why not

   • 夫子何哂由也？ [Classical Chinese, trad. and simp.]

     From: The Analects of Confucius, c. 475 – 221 BCE, translated based on James Legge's version

     Fūzǐ hé shěn Yóu yě? [Pinyin]

     Master, why did you smile at You?

   • 亦何憂令名不彰邪？ [Classical Chinese, trad.]
     亦何忧令名不彰邪？ [Classical Chinese, simp.]

     From: Liu Yiqing (editor), A New Account of the Tales of the World, 5^th century CE

     Yì hé yōu lìngmíng bù zhāng xié? [Pinyin]

     Why do you worry about being not famous?

4. (literary) (forming emphatic sentences) so; such; what; how

   • 秦皇掃六合，虎視何雄哉。 [Classical Chinese, trad.]
     秦皇扫六合，虎视何雄哉。 [Classical Chinese, simp.]

     From: 8th century, 李白, 古風·其三

     Qínhuáng sǎo liù hé, hǔshì hé xióng zāi. [Pinyin]

     Qin Shi Huang conquered the six kingdoms with a sweeping victory. How great he is when he unified the world and looked down upon it.

5. a surname

   何應欽／何应钦  ―  Hé Yìngqīn  ―  He Yingqin (Kuomintang general)

   何鴻燊／何鸿燊 [Cantonese]  ―  ho⁴ hung⁴ san¹ [Jyutping]  ―  Stanley Ho (Hong Kong billionaire)

Quotations

• For quotations using this term, see Citations:何.

Synonyms

Dialectal synonyms of 什麼 (“what”) [map]

Variety	Location	Words edit
Classical Chinese		何
Formal (Written Standard Chinese)		什麼, 恁麼 obsolete
Northeastern Mandarin	Beijing	什麼, 嗎兒
	Taiwan	什麼
	Chengde	什麼
	Chifeng	啥
	Hulunbuir (Hailar)	什麼, 啥
	Heihe	什麼, 啥
	Qiqihar	什麼, 啥
	Harbin	什麼, 啥
	Jiamusi	什麼, 啥
	Baicheng	啥
	Changchun	啥
	Tonghua	啥
	Shenyang	什麼, 啥
	Jinzhou	什麼, 啥
	Malaysia	什麼
	Singapore	什麼
Jilu Mandarin	Tianjin	嗎
	Tangshan	啥
	Cangzhou	什麼, 嗎
	Baoding	什麼
	Shijiazhuang	啥
	Lijin	啥, 啥稿兒
	Weifang (Weicheng)	啥, 什麼
	Weifang (Fangzi)	什麼
	Changle	啥, 什麼
	Shouguang	啥嘎
	Rizhao	什麼
	Wulian	什麼
	Jinan	麼兒, 麼, 什麼, 麼個
Jiaoliao Mandarin	Dalian	什麼
	Dandong	什麼, 啥
	Yantai	什麼
	Yantai (Muping)	麼, 麼個
	Qingdao	什麼
	Weifang (Hanting)	什麼
	Changyi	什麼
	Gaomi	什麼
	Zhucheng	什麼
	Anqiu	什麼
	Linqu	什麼
	Qingzhou	啥, 什麼嘎
Central Plains Mandarin	Luoyang	啥
	Lingbao	啥兒
	Jining	什麼
	Wanrong	色
	Linfen	啥
	Shangqiu	啥
	Yuanyang	什麼
	Zhengzhou	啥
	Xinyang	啥
	Baihe	啥
	Xi'an	什麼, 啥
	Baoji	啥, 咋麼
	Tianshui	啥
	Xining	啥
	Xuzhou	什麼, 啥, 啥子
	Fuyang	什麼, 啥
	Sokuluk (Gansu Dungan)	啥
Lanyin Mandarin	Yinchuan	什麼, 啥
	Lanzhou	什麼, 啥
	Dunhuang	啥
	Hami	什麼, 啥
	Ürümqi	啥
Southwestern Mandarin	Chengdu	啥子
	Nanchong	啥, 啥子
	Dazhou	啥子
	Hanyuan	啥, 啥子
	Xichang	啥子
	Zigong	啥子
	Chongqing	啥子
	Wuhan	什麼, 麼事
	Yichang	什麼兒
	Xiangyang	什麼, 啥子
	Tianmen	什麼, 什麼的
	Lhasa	啥子
	Guiyang	哪樣
	Zunyi	啷個, 啥子
	Bijie	哪樣, 啷子
	Liping	甚子
	Zhaotong	什麼, 啥子
	Dali	咋個
	Kunming	什麼, 哪樣
	Mengzi	哪樣
	Guilin	什麼
	Guilin (Lingui)	什麼
	Guanyang	什麼
	Liuzhou	什麼
	Liuzhou (Luorong)	什麼
	Jishou	什麼
	Changde	麼得
	Xiangtan (Jiangnan Industries Group koine)	麼子
	Hanzhong	啥子
	Dagudi (Maliba)	什麼
	Reshuitang (Longling)	什麼
	Mae Salong (Lancang)	哪樣, 什麼
	Mae Sai (Tengchong)	什麼
Jianghuai Mandarin	Nanjing	什麼
	Yangzhou	什麼
	Lianyungang	什麼
	Lianshui	什麼
	Nantong	甚呢
	Anqing	什麼, 麼東西
	Wuhu	什麼
	Hefei	什麼, 哄, 哄個
	Hong'an	什麼, 麼事, 麼東西
Cantonese	Guangzhou	乜嘢, 咩嘢, 乜, 咩
	Hong Kong	乜嘢, 咩嘢, 乜, 咩
	Hong Kong (San Tin; Weitou)	咩嘢
	Hong Kong (Kam Tin; Weitou)	乜嘢
	Hong Kong (Ting Kok)	咩嘢
	Hong Kong (Tung Ping Chau)	咩嘢
	Macau	乜嘢
	Guangzhou (Panyu)	乜嘢
	Guangzhou (Huashan, Huadu)	乜嘢
	Guangzhou (Conghua)	乜嘢
	Guangzhou (Zengcheng)	乜嘢
	Foshan	乜嘢
	Foshan (Shatou, Nanhai)	乜嘢
	Foshan (Shunde)	乜嘢
	Foshan (Sanshui)	乜嘢
	Foshan (Mingcheng, Gaoming)	乜嘢
	Zhongshan (Shiqi)	乜嘢
	Zhuhai (Qianshan, Xiangzhou)	乜嘢
	Zhuhai (Shangheng, Doumen; Tanka)	乜
	Zhuhai (Doumen)	乜
	Jiangmen (Baisha)	乜嘢
	Jiangmen (Xinhui)	乜
	Taishan	乜, 乜嘢
	Taishan (Guanghai)	乜, 乜嘎
	Kaiping (Chikan)	乜, 乜啊, 乜嘢
	Enping (Niujiang)	乜嘢
	Heshan (Yayao)	乜嘢
	Dongguan	乜嘢, 乜
	Shenzhen (Shajing, Bao'an)	乜嘢
	Shenzhen (Dapeng)	乜嘢, 乜
	Yangjiang	乜, 乜嘢
	Wuzhou	乜嘢
	Hepu (Lianzhou)	物底
	Guiping	乜嘢
	Mengshan (Xihe)	什麼
	Beiliu (Tangliao)	乜嘢
	Baise	乜嘢
	Qinzhou	乜嘢, 乜
	Qinzhou (Xiniujiao)	乜底
	Beihai	乜嘢
	Beihai (Nankang)	乜嘢
	Beihai (Yingpan)	乜底
	Beihai (Qiaogang - Cô Tô)	乜嘢
	Beihai (Qiaogang - Cát Bà)	乜嘢
	Hengzhou	哪門
	Fangchenggang (Fangcheng)	乜嘢
	Kuala Lumpur (Guangfu)	乜嘢, 咩
	Penang (Guangfu)	乜嘢, 咩
	Singapore (Guangfu)	乜嘢, 咩, 乜
	Ho Chi Minh City (Guangfu)	乜嘢
	Móng Cái	乜嘢
	Yangon (Taishan)	乜
Gan	Nanchang	什哩
	Lichuan	什仔
	Pingxiang	咋個
Hakka	Meixian	麼個
	Xingning	麼個
	Dabu (Gaobei)	麼個
	Fengshun (Tangkeng)	麼個
	Fengshun (Fengliang)	麼個
	Fengshun (Pantian)	麼個
	Huizhou (Huicheng; Bendihua)	乜嘢
	Huiyang	麼個
	Huidong (Daling)	麼個
	Dongguan (Qingxi)	麼個
	Shenzhen (Shatoujiao)	麼個
	Zhongshan (Nanlang Heshui)	乜嘢
	Wuhua (Huacheng)	麼個
	Wengyuan	麼個
	Nanxiong (Zhuji)	什麼
	Shaoguan (Qujiang)	麼個
	Lianshan (Xiaosanjiang)	麼個
	Liannan	麼個
	Guangzhou (Lütian, Conghua)	麼個
	Jiexi	麼個
	Luhe	麼個
	Changting	麼個, 什西哩, 什西
	Wuping	麼個, 麼事
	Wuping (Pingyu)	麼個
	Liancheng	麼個, 什麼
	Ninghua	什麼
	Yudu	子個
	Ruijin	咩, 唔幾
	Shicheng	什麼
	Shangyou (Shexi)	哪個, 哪項, 個哪, 哪
	Tonggu (Sandu)	麼個
	Ganzhou (Panlong)	什麼
	Dayu	什麼
	Taoyuan	麼個
	Miaoli (N. Sixian)	麼個
	Pingtung (Neipu; S. Sixian)	麼個
	Hsinchu County (Zhudong; Hailu)	麼個
	Taichung (Dongshi; Dabu)	麼個
	Hsinchu County (Qionglin; Raoping)	麼個
	Yunlin (Lunbei; Zhao'an)	麼個
	Nantou (Guoxing; Lufeng)	麼個
	Hong Kong	麼個
	Mengshan (Xihe)	麼個
	Luchuan	麼個
	Senai (Huiyang)	麼個
	Kuching (Hepo)	乜個
	Singkawang	麼個
	Pontianak (Meixian)	麼個
	Singapore (Dabu)	麼個
	Bangkok (Meixian)	麼個
	Bangkok (Fengshun)	麼個
Huizhou	Jixi	麼仂
	Shexian	麼二
Jin	Taiyuan	甚
	Yangyuan	什麼, 啥, 咋, 甚
	Datong	啥
	Xinzhou	甚
	Lüliang (Lishi)	甚
	Changzhi	什麼
	Linhe	什麼, 甚
	Jining	甚
	Hohhot	甚
	Erenhot	什麼, 甚
	Pingshan	什麼兒
	Zhangjiakou	什麼
	Handan	什麼, 啥
	Linzhou	啥
	Suide	什麼, 甚
Jiuxing Yumin	Lanxi	啥哩
Northern Min	Jian'ou	孰事, 孰麼, 孰麼事
	Jian'ou (Dikou)	橘二, 橘二事
	Songxi	什麼事
	Jianyang	孰事
	Wuyishan	什麼事
	Pucheng (Shibei)	孰麼, 孰, 孰麼事, 孰事, 孰麼契, 孰契
Eastern Min	Fuzhou	什乇, 什名, 什乇名, 面乇名
	Fuzhou (Changle)	什乇
	Fuqing	什乇, 乜乇
	Pingtan	什乇
	Yongtai	哪乇
	Gutian	乇, 什乇
	Fu'an	乜乇
	Ningde	哪乇
	Shouning	呢乇
	Zhouning	乜乇
	Fuding	哪乇
	Matsu	什乇
	Singapore (Fuqing)	什乇
Southern Min	Xiamen	什物, 啥物, 啥貨
	Xiamen (Tong'an)	什物
	Quanzhou	啥物, 乜
	Jinjiang	啥物
	Nan'an	什物
	Shishi	啥物
	Hui'an	什物
	Anxi	啥物
	Yongchun	啥物
	Dehua	啥物
	Zhangzhou	哪貨仔, 哪貨, 哪仔, 哪物仔, 哪物, 什物, 啥物, 啥貨, 啥物仔, 啥貨仔
	Zhangzhou (Longhai)	啥物, 啥
	Zhangzhou (Changtai)	啥
	Hua'an	什物
	Nanjing	哪物
	Pinghe	啥物
	Zhangpu	啥貨
	Yunxiao	什物仔
	Zhao'an	什物
	Dongshan	什物
	Taipei	啥貨, 啥物, 啥
	Taipei (Wanhua)	啥物
	New Taipei (Sanxia)	啥
	Kaohsiung	啥, 啥貨, 啥物
	Kaohsiung (Cijin)	啥物, 啥
	Kaohsiung (Hongmaogang, Siaogang)	啥物, 啥
	Kaohsiung (Dalinpu, Siaogang)	啥物, 啥
	Yilan	啥貨, 啥物貨
	Changhua (Lukang)	啥物, 啥貨
	Taichung	啥, 啥貨
	Taichung (Wuqi)	啥物
	Tainan	啥物, 啥貨
	Taitung	啥物
	Hsinchu	啥, 啥物
	Kinmen	啥貨, 啥物, 什物, 物代
	Penghu (Magong)	啥貨, 物代
	Penang (Hokkien)	何物
	Singapore (Hokkien)	什物
	Manila (Hokkien)	啥物
	Medan (Hokkien)	何物
	Longyan	什物
	Datian	啥貨, 什物
	Chaozhou	乜個, 乜
	Shantou	乜個, 乜
	Shantou (Chenghai)	乜個
	Shantou (Chaoyang)	乜個
	Jieyang	乜個, 乜, 是乜
	Haifeng	乜個, 乜
	Bangkok (Teochew)	乜個
	Phnom Penh (Teochew)	乜個
	Ho Chi Minh City (Teochew)	乜個
	Johor Bahru (Teochew)	乜個
	Singapore (Teochew)	乜個, 什乜, 底個
	Batam (Teochew)	乜個, 什乜, 底個
	Pontianak (Teochew)	乜個
	Leizhou	乜
	Wenchang	乜
	Haikou	乜, 個乜
	Qionghai	乜
	Singapore (Hainanese)	乜
Puxian Min	Putian	甚麼
Central Min	Yong'an	啥貨
	Sanming (Sanyuan)	啥貨
	Sanming (Shaxian)	啥貨
Zhongshan Min	Zhongshan (Sanxiang)	乜儗
Southern Pinghua	Nanning (Tingzi)	門, 哪門
	Binyang (Xinqiao)	哪門
Waxiang	Guzhang (Gaofeng)	什個
	Luxi (Lijiatian)	什家
Wu	Shanghai	啥, 啥個, 啥物事
	Shanghai (Xinzhuang, Minhang)	啥物
	Shanghai (Nanhui, Pudong)	啥物事
	Shanghai (Fengxian)	啥物
	Shanghai (Jinshan)	做啥
	Shanghai (Qingpu)	哈個
	Shanghai (Chongming)	何, 何物, 何物事
	Suzhou	啥, 啥個, 啥物事
	Wuxi	啥, 啥個, 啥物事, 啥物
	Danyang	點高
	Hangzhou	啥
	Ningbo	啥, 啥西
	Wenzhou	何乜
	Jinhua	待, 淡
Xiang	Changsha	麼子
	Loudi	麼子
	Shuangfeng	麼子
	Quanzhou	什麼
	Guanyang (Wenshi)	啥

Dialectal synonyms of 哪裡 (“where”) [map]

Variety	Location	Words edit
Classical Chinese		何, 何處, 何許, 何所, 何方, 安
Formal (Written Standard Chinese)		哪裡, 何處, 什麼地方
Northeastern Mandarin	Beijing	哪兒, 哪兒合兒 colloquial, 哪合兒 colloquial
	Taiwan	哪裡, 哪
	Ulanhot	哪兒
	Tongliao	哪兒
	Chifeng	哪兒
	Hulunbuir (Hailar)	哪兒
	Harbin	哪兒, 哪疙兒, 哪疙瘩, 哪海兒, 哪塊兒, 哪場兒
	Shenyang	哪兒, 哪塊兒
	Malaysia	哪裡
	Singapore	哪裡
Jilu Mandarin	Tianjin	哪兒, 哪兒合兒 colloquial, 哪合兒 colloquial
	Jinan	哪, 哪裡
Jiaoliao Mandarin	Yantai (Muping)	哪兒, 哪裡, 哪場兒
Central Plains Mandarin	Luoyang	哪兒
	Wanrong	哪達, 哪那
	Zhengzhou	哪兒
	Xi'an	哪搭兒, 哪搭
	Xining	哪裡
	Xuzhou	哪來, 哪下, 哪點兒
	Sokuluk (Gansu Dungan)	哪塌, 哪塌兒, 哪呢
	Masanchin (Shaanxi Dungan)	哪塌, 哪呢
Lanyin Mandarin	Yinchuan	哪點, 哪裡
	Bayanhot	哪兒
	Lanzhou	哪達, 哪達裡, 哪達兒
	Ürümqi	哪達
Southwestern Mandarin	Chengdu	哪兒, 啥子地方, 哪跟前, 哪點兒
	Wuhan	哪裡, 啥裡, 哪歇, 哪塊, 哪塊歇, 啥塊, 啥塊些
	Guiyang	哪點
	Kunming	哪點兒
	Guilin	哪塏
	Liuzhou	哪裡, 哪, 哪塏, 哪位子, 哪塊, 哪甿
	Shanglin (Sanli)	哪點
	Xiangtan (Jiangnan Industries Group koine)	哪裡, 哪塊子
Jianghuai Mandarin	Nanjing	哪塊, 哪裡, 哪兒
	Yangzhou	哪塊, 哪
	Nantong	哪對過, 哪腳下
	Hefei	哪格子, 哪蒿子, 哪塊子, 哪塊
	Huanggang	哪下兒
Mandarin	Fuzhou (Qinjiang, Changle)	哪點
Cantonese	Guangzhou	邊度, 邊處, 邊
	Hong Kong	邊度, 邊處, 邊
	Hong Kong (San Tin; Weitou)	選頭
	Hong Kong (Kam Tin; Weitou)	選處
	Hong Kong (Ting Kok)	哪頭
	Hong Kong (Tung Ping Chau)	哪埞
	Macau	邊度
	Guangzhou (Panyu)	邊度
	Guangzhou (Huashan, Huadu)	哪度
	Guangzhou (Conghua)	哪處
	Guangzhou (Zengcheng)	星處
	Foshan	邊度
	Foshan (Shatou, Nanhai)	邊度
	Foshan (Shunde)	邊度
	Foshan (Sanshui)	邊度
	Foshan (Mingcheng, Gaoming)	邊度
	Zhongshan (Shiqi)	邊呢
	Zhuhai (Qianshan, Xiangzhou)	邊處
	Zhuhai (Shangheng, Doumen; Tanka)	邊
	Zhuhai (Doumen)	哪
	Jiangmen (Baisha)	邊子
	Jiangmen (Xinhui)	邊子
	Taishan	哪埞, 哪
	Kaiping (Chikan)	哪
	Enping (Niujiang)	哪
	Heshan (Yayao)	唔址
	Dongguan	邊處, 鼠處
	Shenzhen (Shajing, Bao'an)	邊度
	Shenzhen (Dapeng)	哪廳
	Shaoguan	邊度
	Yunfu	邊埞
	Yangjiang	邊, 邊處, 邊處塗
	Xinyi	庶
	Nanning	邊笪埞, 邊笪, 邊啲
	Wuzhou	邊啲, 邊笪, 邊笪埞方
	Kuala Lumpur (Guangfu)	邊度
	Singapore (Guangfu)	邊度, 邊, 邊處
	Ho Chi Minh City (Guangfu)	邊度
Gan	Nanchang	哪裡
	Lichuan	哪咑
	Pingxiang	哪裡
Hakka	Meixian	哪仔, 哪滴
	Xingning	哪裡
	Huizhou (Huicheng; Bendihua)	哪呢
	Huidong (Daling)	哪等
	Dongguan (Qingxi)	哪定
	Shenzhen (Shatoujiao)	哪定
	Zhongshan (Nanlang Heshui)	哪聽
	Shaoguan (Qujiang)	哪子
	Lianshan (Xiaosanjiang)	哪望
	Guangzhou (Lütian, Conghua)	哪定
	Changting	哪塊, 哪塊哩, 哪裡, 哪裡哩, 哪角
	Wuping (Pingyu)	哪子
	Liancheng	哪裡, 哪角
	Ninghua	何個, 台角
	Ruijin	哪, 哪營子
	Shicheng	哪裡
	Shangyou (Shexi)	哪當
	Miaoli (N. Sixian)	哪位, 哪仔
	Pingtung (Neipu; S. Sixian)	哪仔, 哪, 哪跡仔
	Hsinchu County (Zhudong; Hailu)	哪位, 哪仔
	Taichung (Dongshi; Dabu)	哪位, 哪
	Hsinchu County (Qionglin; Raoping)	哪位, 哪仔
	Yunlin (Lunbei; Zhao'an)	哪位
	Hong Kong	哪裡, 哪埞
	Sabah (Longchuan)	哪埞
	Senai (Huiyang)	哪位
	Kuching (Hepo)	哪圍
	Singkawang	阿位
Huizhou	Jixi	哪塊, 哪個許塊
	Shexian	哪個落地
	Huangshan (Tunxi)	哪裡
	Xiuning	哪裡
	Yixian	哪個背兒
	Wuyuan	何落
	Shitai (Xianyu)	哪裡
Jin	Taiyuan	哪裡, 哪兒家
	Pingyao	哪兒, 哪底下
	Xinzhou	哪兒
	Taibus (Baochang)	哪兒
	Linhe	哪兒
	Jining	哪兒
	Hohhot	哪兒
	Baotou	哪兒
	Dongsheng	哪兒
	Haibowan	哪兒
Northern Min	Jian'ou	呢底
	Jian'ou (Dikou)	呢底
	Songxi	呢底
	Zhenghe	呢搭底
	Zhenghe (Zhenqian)	哪底, 哪
	Jianyang	哪角底, 哪角
	Wuyishan	哪地
	Pucheng (Shibei)	呢底
Eastern Min	Fuzhou	底所, 底塊 dated or rural
	Fuzhou (Changle)	底所
	Fuqing	佗落, 途位
	Pingtan	佗落
	Yongtai	底所
	Gutian	底塊
	Fu'an	底塊
	Ningde	底塊
	Shouning	底位穴, 底位
	Zhouning	底塊
	Matsu	底所
	Singapore (Fuqing)	佗落
Southern Min	Xiamen	佗落, 佗, 佗一位, 佗位, 佗一帶, 佗帶
	Xiamen (Tong'an)	佗落
	Quanzhou	佗落, 佗, 佗一位, 底帶
	Jinjiang	佗落, 佗一位, 底落
	Nan'an	佗落
	Shishi	佗落
	Hui'an	佗搭, 佗, 佗落
	Anxi	佗落
	Yongchun	佗落, 寡
	Dehua	佗落仔
	Zhangzhou	佗落仔, 佗落, 佗位仔, 佗位, 佗, 佗一位
	Zhangzhou (Longhai)	佗落仔
	Zhangzhou (Changtai)	佗落仔, 佗落
	Hua'an	佗仔, 佗位仔
	Nanjing	佗落仔
	Pinghe	佗落, 佗一位, 佗位, 底位
	Zhangpu	佗位
	Yunxiao	底仔
	Zhao'an	底位, 底落
	Dongshan	底位
	Taipei	佗位
	New Taipei (Sanxia)	佗位
	Kaohsiung	佗位
	Yilan	佗位, 佗位仔
	Changhua (Lukang)	佗落
	Taichung	佗位
	Tainan	佗位
	Hsinchu	佗位
	Kinmen	佗, 佗落
	Penghu (Magong)	佗位
	Penang (Hokkien)	佗落, 佗落位
	Singapore (Hokkien)	佗落
	Manila (Hokkien)	佗落
	Longyan	佗落
	Zhangping	佗落, 佗位
	Zhangping (Yongfu)	佗落
	Datian	底窟
	Pingnan (Shangdu)	哪裡
	Chaozhou	底塊
	Shantou	底塊
	Shantou (Chenghai)	底塊
	Shantou (Chaoyang)	底囝
	Jieyang	底塊
	Haifeng	底帶
	Bangkok (Teochew)	底塊
	Johor Bahru (Teochew)	底一塊
	Singapore (Teochew)	底塊
	Pontianak (Teochew)	底塊
	Leizhou	底跡
	Wenchang	帶
	Haikou	乜帶, 底帶, 底幅帶, 乜地方, 底內
	Qionghai	帶寺
	Singapore (Hainanese)	帶
Puxian Min	Putian	佗落
	Xianyou	底跡, 底落, 佗落
Southern Pinghua	Nanning (Tingzi)	哪啲, 哪甿
Northern Pinghua	Guilin (Dahe)	哪裡
Wu	Shanghai	阿裡, 阿裡搭, 阿裡頭, 啥地方, 啥個地方, 啥場化 dated, 啥個場化 dated
	Shanghai (Songjiang)	何旦, 何裡旦
	Shanghai (Qingpu)	哈戶蕩
	Shanghai (Jiading)	何裡浪, 何浪
	Shanghai (Chongming)	哪墩, 何墩
	Suzhou	啥場化, 哪搭
	Wuxi	羅裡搭葛, 羅搭
	Danyang	哪裡
	Hangzhou	哪裡
	Ningbo	阿裡, 阿𡍲, 焉𡍲, 啥地方, 啥塢探, 啥塢宕
	Wenzhou	狃宕, 狃柢, 狃, 若宕, 若柢
	Jinhua	哪裡, 哪汏
Xiang	Changsha	哪裡, 何至, 哪當
	Xiangtan	哪當
	Loudi	哪裡
	Shuangfeng	哪裡
	Quanzhou	哪裡

Dialectal synonyms of 為什麼 (“why”) [map]

Variety	Location	Words edit
Classical Chinese		何為, 何以, 何, 何故, 緣何, 胡, 奚, 曷, 胡為
Formal (Written Standard Chinese)		為什麼, 為何, 因何, 何以
Northeastern Mandarin	Beijing	為什麼, 幹嗎, 幹什麼
	Taiwan	為什麼
	Harbin	為啥
	Malaysia	為什麼, 做什麼, 做麼
	Singapore	為什麼, 做什麼, 做麼
Jilu Mandarin	Tianjin	為嘛
	Jinan	為麼兒, 為麼, 幹麼兒, 為什麼
Jiaoliao Mandarin	Yantai (Muping)	為麼, 為麼個
Central Plains Mandarin	Xi'an	為啥, 因啥
	Xining	為啥
	Xuzhou	為啥, 擁啥, 擁什麼
Lanyin Mandarin	Yinchuan	為啥
	Lanzhou	為啥
	Ürümqi	為啥
Southwestern Mandarin	Chengdu	為啥子, 做啥子
	Wuhan	做麼事, 為麼事
	Guiyang	為哪樣, 為些哪樣
	Guilin	為什麼
	Liuzhou	為什麼
	Xiangtan (Jiangnan Industries Group koine)	為什麼
Jianghuai Mandarin	Nanjing	為什麼
	Yangzhou	甚們事, 做事, 做啥, 為甚們 formal
	Hefei	怎搞, 怎搞的
Cantonese	Guangzhou	點解, 做乜, 做乜嘢, 為乜, 為乜為物, 做乜事幹, 因乜事幹, 因乜解究, 因乜緣故, 何解, 乜, 咩
	Hong Kong	點解, 做乜, 做乜嘢, 做咩, 為乜, 為咩, 做乜事幹, 因乜事幹, 因乜解究, 因咩解究, 因乜緣故, 何解, 乜, 咩
	Hong Kong (Kam Tin; Weitou)	做乜嘢
	Macau	為乜嘢
	Guangzhou (Panyu)	點解
	Guangzhou (Huashan, Huadu)	整乜嘢
	Guangzhou (Zengcheng)	做乜嘢
	Foshan	點解
	Foshan (Shatou, Nanhai)	點解
	Foshan (Shunde)	為乜嘢
	Foshan (Mingcheng, Gaoming)	因乜嘢, 點解
	Zhongshan (Shiqi)	為乜嘢
	Zhuhai (Qianshan, Xiangzhou)	為乜嘢
	Zhuhai (Shangheng, Doumen; Tanka)	點解
	Zhuhai (Doumen)	點解
	Jiangmen (Baisha)	點解
	Taishan	幾何, 幾解, 做乜, 為乜, 乜頭路
	Kaiping (Chikan)	幾解
	Enping (Niujiang)	做乜
	Dongguan	點解, 做乜嘢, 做乜, 為乜嘢
	Shenzhen (Shajing, Bao'an)	點解
	Shenzhen (Dapeng)	點解
	Yangjiang	為乜, 為乜事, 做乜, 做乜事, 做乜嘢
	Hepu (Lianzhou)	為物底
	Qinzhou	為乜嘢, 為乜
	Qinzhou (Xiniujiao)	為乜底
	Beihai	為乜嘢
	Beihai (Nankang)	做乜嘢
	Beihai (Yingpan)	為乜底
	Beihai (Qiaogang - Cô Tô)	做乜嘢, 為乜
	Beihai (Qiaogang - Cát Bà)	做乜嘢
	Fangchenggang (Fangcheng)	做乜嘢, 為乜
	Kuala Lumpur (Guangfu)	點解
	Singapore (Guangfu)	點解
	Ho Chi Minh City (Guangfu)	做乜嘢
	Móng Cái	點解, 為乜
	Yangon (Taishan)	幾解
Gan	Nanchang	為什哩
	Pingxiang	為咋個, 為咋哩, 做咋個, 做咋哩, 何解
Hakka	Meixian	做麼個
	Huizhou (Huicheng; Bendihua)	做乜嘢, 做嘢
	Dongguan (Qingxi)	做麼個
	Shenzhen (Shatoujiao)	做麼個
	Zhongshan (Wuguishan)	仰解, 做乜嘢
	Zhongshan (Nanlang Heshui)	為乜嘢
	Guangzhou (Lütian, Conghua)	為麼個
	Miaoli (N. Sixian)	做麼個
	Pingtung (Neipu; S. Sixian)	做麼個
	Hsinchu County (Zhudong; Hailu)	做麼個
	Taichung (Dongshi; Dabu)	做麼個
	Hsinchu County (Qionglin; Raoping)	做麼個
	Yunlin (Lunbei; Zhao'an)	做麼個
	Hong Kong	做麼個
	Kuching (Hepo)	做乜個
Jin	Taiyuan	為甚, 因為甚, 幹什
	Xinzhou	𠰻們
Northern Min	Jian'ou	為孰事, 做孰事
Eastern Min	Fuzhou	蔣其, 蔣講, 做什乇, 做什名, 幹乜勢, 傒勢
	Fuzhou (Changle)	傒勢
	Fuqing	介計
	Yongtai	蔣其
	Gutian	做什乇
	Fu'an	做乜乇
	Ningde	做乇
	Shouning	做呢乇
	Zhouning	做乜乇
	Fuding	做哪乇
	Matsu	為什乇, 蔣其, 蔣講, 做什乇, 傒勢
Southern Min	Xiamen	為什物, 按怎, 物代, 敢咧, 創什物
	Quanzhou	按怎, 物代
	Jinjiang	為啥物
	Zhangzhou	按怎
	Zhao'an	為甚物
	Dongshan	為甚物
	Taipei	為啥物, 是按怎
	Penang (Hokkien)	何物事, 做物事, 做物
	Singapore (Hokkien)	按怎
	Manila (Hokkien)	敢哪, 敢哪誌
	Chaozhou	做呢
	Shantou	做呢
	Shantou (Chaoyang)	做呢
	Singapore (Teochew)	做呢
	Leizhou	作乜, 因乜
	Wenchang	作乜, 因乜, 怎作
	Haikou	作乜, 作個乜, 作乜物, 因乜, 因個乜
	Singapore (Hainanese)	作乜
Zhongshan Min	Zhongshan (Longdu, Shaxi)	為乜嘢
Southern Pinghua	Nanning (Tingzi)	做門, 做哪門, 為哪門
Waxiang	Guzhang (Gaofeng)	為什個
Wu	Shanghai	啥體, 為啥, 做啥, 啥講究, 為啥體, 啥個講究, 啥道理, 為啥道理, 啥個路道, 啥個緣故
	Shanghai (Chongming)	為何, 做何
	Suzhou	為啥, 為點啥, 做啥, 啥體, 為啥體
	Danyang	為點高, 做點高
	Hangzhou	為啥
	Wenzhou	妝乜, 為何呢, 為乜事幹
	Jinhua	為淡事幹, 為待西
Xiang	Changsha	為麼子, 何解
	Xiangtan	奚解
	Loudi	嗎介
	Shuangfeng	為麼子, 做麼子

Compounds

• 不奈何
• 不知何故
• 今夕何夕
• 任何 (rènhé)
• 何不 (hébù)
• 何之
• 何事 (héshì)
• 何人 (hérén)
• 何人斯
• 何以 (héyǐ)
• 何以克當 / 何以克当
• 何仙姑
• 何以見得 / 何以见得 (héyǐjiàndé)
• 何休
• 何似
• 何但
• 何傷 / 何伤
• 何其 (héqí)
• 何則 / 何则
• 何功之有
• 何去何從 / 何去何从 (héqùhécóng)
• 何哉
• 何啻
• 何嘗 / 何尝 (hécháng)
• 何在 (hézài)
• 何堪
• 何如 (hérú)
• 何如帖
• 何妨
• 何居
• 何常
• 何干 (hégān)
• 何年何月
• 何店 (Hédiàn)
• 何彼襛矣 / 何彼𰳺矣
• 何從 / 何从
• 何得 (hédé)
• 何德何能 (hédéhénéng)
• 何必 (hébì)
• 何意 (héyì)
• 何所
• 何所不為 / 何所不为
• 何承天
• 何故 (hégù)
• 何敢 (hégǎn)
• 何方 (héfāng)
• 何時 / 何时 (héshí)
• 何晏
• 何景明
• 何曾
• 何有
• 何期
• 何極 / 何极
• 何樂不為 / 何乐不为 (hélèbùwéi)
• 何止 (hézhǐ)
• 何氏語林 / 何氏语林
• 何況 / 何况 (hékuàng)
• 何消
• 何消說 / 何消说
• 何滿子 / 何满子
• 何為 / 何为
• 何焯
• 何物
• 何用
• 何由 (héyóu)
• 何當 / 何当
• 何種 / 何种
• 何等 (héděng)
• 何紹基 / 何绍基
• 何罪之有 (hézuìzhīyǒu)
• 何者 (hézhě)
• 何聊賴 / 何聊赖
• 何與 / 何与
• 何若
• 何苦 (hékǔ)
• 何苦來 / 何苦来 (hékǔlái)
• 何草不黃 / 何草不黄
• 何處 / 何处 (héchù)
• 何見之晚 / 何见之晚
• 何許 / 何许 (héxǔ)
• 何許人 / 何许人 (héxǔrén)
• 何謂 / 何谓 (héwèi)
• 何賈 / 何贾
• 何足 (hézú)
• 何足掛齒 / 何足挂齿 (hézú guàchǐ)
• 何足為奇 / 何足为奇
• 何足算
• 何足道哉
• 何進 / 何进
• 何遜 / 何逊
• 何關 / 何关
• 何陽店 / 何阳店 (Héyángdiàn)
• 何電 / 何电 (Hédiàn)
• 何須 / 何须 (héxū)
• 何預 / 何预
• 何首烏 / 何首乌 (héshǒuwū)
• 何鼓
• 傅粉何郎
• 噬臍何及 / 噬脐何及
• 因何 (yīnhé)
• 奈何 (nàihé)
• 奈何橋 / 奈何桥 (nàihéqiáo)
• 如之何 (rúzhīhé)
• 如之奈何 (rú zhī nàihé)
• 如何 (rúhé)
• 如何是好
• 干卿何事 (gānqīnghéshì)
• 幾何 / 几何 (jǐhé)
• 幾何圖形 / 几何图形 (jǐhé túxíng)
• 幾何圖案 / 几何图案
• 幾何學 / 几何学 (jǐhéxué)
• 幾何級數 / 几何级数 (jǐhé jíshù)
• 弋人何篡
• 弋者何慕
• 弋者何篡
• 後悔何及 / 后悔何及
• 從何說起 / 从何说起
• 悔之何及
• 情何以堪 (qínghéyǐkān)
• 成何體統 / 成何体统 (chénghétǐtǒng)
• 方何礙 / 方何碍
• 於何 / 于何
• 於心何忍 / 于心何忍 (yúxīnhérěn)
• 日飲亡何 / 日饮亡何
• 春秋幾何 / 春秋几何
• 更待何時 / 更待何时 (gèng dài héshí)
• 曾幾何時 / 曾几何时 (céngjǐhéshí)
• 有何不可 (yǒuhébùkě)
• 末奈何
• 末如之何
• 末耐何
• 柰何 (nàihé)
• 沒及奈何 / 没及奈何
• 沒奈何 / 没奈何 (mònàihé)
• 沒極奈何 / 没极奈何
• 沒計奈何 / 没计奈何
• 為何 / 为何
• 無何 / 无何 (wúhé)
• 無可奈何 / 无可奈何 (wúkěnàihé)
• 無可如何 / 无可如何
• 無奈我何 / 无奈我何
• 無如之何 / 无如之何
• 無如奈何 / 无如奈何
• 無計奈何 / 无计奈何
• 無論如何 / 无论如何 (wúlùnrúhé)
• 百身何贖 / 百身何赎
• 相煎何急
• 立體幾何 / 立体几何 (lìtǐ jǐhé)
• 緣何 / 缘何 (yuánhé)
• 而何 (érhé)
• 若何 (ruòhé)
• 莫可奈何
• 莫敢誰何 / 莫敢谁何 (mògǎn-shuíhé)
• 蕭何 / 萧何
• 解析幾何 / 解析几何 (jiěxī jǐhé)
• 該當何罪 / 该当何罪
• 誰何 / 谁何
• 談何容易 / 谈何容易 (tánhéróngyì)
• 譴何 / 谴何
• 追悔何及

 

Descendants

• → English: He, Ho
• → Tagalog: Ho (via Hokkien)

Pronunciation 2

• Mandarin

  (Pinyin): hè (he⁴)

  (Zhuyin): ㄏㄜˋ

• Cantonese (Jyutping): ho⁶
• Xiang (Changsha, Wiktionary): ho⁴

---

• Mandarin
  • (Standard Chinese)⁺
    • Hanyu Pinyin: hè
    • Zhuyin: ㄏㄜˋ
    • Tongyong Pinyin: hè
    • Wade–Giles: ho⁴
    • Yale: hè
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: heh
    • Palladius: хэ (xɛ)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /xɤ⁵¹/
• Cantonese
  • (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)
    • Jyutping: ho⁶
    • Yale: hoh
    • Cantonese Pinyin: ho⁶
    • Guangdong Romanization: ho⁶
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /hɔː²²/
• Xiang
  • (Changsha)
    • Wiktionary: ho⁴
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /xo⁴⁵/

---

• Middle Chinese: haX

Rime
Character	何
Reading #	2/2
Initial (聲)	匣 (33)
Final (韻)	歌 (94)
Tone (調)	Rising (X)
Openness (開合)	Open
Division (等)	I
Fanqie	胡可切
Baxter	haX
Reconstructions
Zhengzhang Shangfang	/ɦɑX/
Pan Wuyun	/ɦɑX/
Shao Rongfen	/ɣɑX/
Edwin Pulleyblank	/ɦaX/
Li Rong	/ɣɑX/
Wang Li	/ɣɑX/
Bernhard Karlgren	/ɣɑX/
Expected Mandarin Reflex	hè
Expected Cantonese Reflex	ho6

• Old Chinese

  (Zhengzhang): /*ɡaːlʔ/

Zhengzhang system (2003)
Character	何
Reading #	2/2
No.	7466
Phonetic component	可
Rime group	歌
Rime subdivision	1
Corresponding MC rime	荷
Old Chinese	/*ɡaːlʔ/
Notes	同荷

Definitions

何

1. ^† Original form of 荷 (“to carry”).

Pronunciation 3

• Mandarin

  (Pinyin): hē (he¹)

  (Zhuyin): ㄏㄜ

• Cantonese (Jyutping): ho¹

---

• Mandarin
  • (Standard Chinese)⁺
    • Hanyu Pinyin: hē
    • Zhuyin: ㄏㄜ
    • Tongyong Pinyin: he
    • Wade–Giles: ho¹
    • Yale: hē
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: he
    • Palladius: хэ (xɛ)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /xɤ⁵⁵/
• Cantonese
  • (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)
    • Jyutping: ho¹
    • Yale: hō
    • Cantonese Pinyin: ho¹
    • Guangdong Romanization: ho¹
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /hɔː⁵⁵/

Definitions

何

1. ^† Original form of 呵 (“to scold; to criticise; to denounce”).

References

• “何”, in 漢語多功能字庫 (Multi-function Chinese Character Database)‎^[1], 香港中文大學 (the Chinese University of Hong Kong), 2014–
• Dictionary of Chinese Character Variants (教育部異體字字典), A00111
• “Entry #2874”, in 教育部臺灣台語常用詞辭典 [Dictionary of Frequently-Used Taiwanese Taigi] (overall work in Mandarin and Hokkien), Ministry of Education, R.O.C., 2024.

Japanese

Kanji

何

(Second grade kyōiku kanji)

1. what

Readings

• Go-on: が (ga)^{←が (ga, historical)}
• Kan-on: か (ka, Jōyō)^{←か (ka, historical)}
• Kun: なに (nani, 何, Jōyō)^{←なに (nani, 何, historical)}、なん (nan, 何, Jōyō ^†)^{←なん (nan, 何, historical)}、いず (izu, 何)^{←いづ (idu, 何, historical)}、いずれ (izure, 何れ)^{←いづれ (idure, 何れ, historical)}、いずく (izuku, 何く)^{←いづく (iduku, 何く, historical)}
• Nanori: あが (aga)

Etymology

Kanji in this term
何
なに Grade: 2
kun'yomi

From Old Japanese, from Proto-Japonic *n-anu-.

Pronunciation

• (Tokyo) なに [náꜜnì] (Atamadaka – [1])
• IPA^(key): [na̠ɲ̟i]

• Audio:

  (file)

• (Tokyo) なん [náꜜǹ] (Atamadaka – [1])
• IPA^(key): [nã̠ɴ]

Compounds

Compounds

• 如何(どう) (dō), 如何(いかん) (ikan), 如何(いかが) (ikaga)
• 奈何(いかん) (ikan)
• 幾何(きか) (kika), 幾何(いくばく) (ikubaku)
• 誰(すい)何(か) (suika)
• 何人(なんにん) (nannin), 何人(なんびと) (nanbito)
• 何程(なにほど) (nanihodo)
• 何(なん)箇(こ) (nanko)
• 何回(なんかい) (nankai)
• 何故(なぜ) (naze), 何故(なにゆえ) (naniyue)
• 何処(どこ) (doko), 何処(いずこ) (izuko)
• 何奴(どいつ) (doitsu), 何奴(なにやつ) (naniyatsu)
• 何物(なにもの) (nanimono)
• 何分(なにぶん) (nanibun)
• 何遍(なんべん) (nanben)
• 何某(なにぼう) (nanibō)
• 何様(なにさま) (nanisama)

Interjection

何(なに) • (nani) 

1. What?, Huh?

Pronoun

何(なに) • (nani)  (alternative reading hiragana なん, rōmaji nan)

1. what
   • 794, Shin'yaku Kegonkyō Ongi Shiki, page 92:

     汝何所爲 奈尓世牟止曽

     What you should do. Nani se mu tö sö.

2. that thing (used in place of words you can't remember at the moment.)

Adverb

何(なに) • (nani) 

1. (in the negative) any, whatsoever, at all

   何不自由なく ― nani fujiyū naku ― without any inconvenience

Usage notes

• 何 is usually read as なに, but before だ, で, の, it is read as なん. When followed by で, both readings are possible, albeit with different meanings.

Derived terms

Derived terms from interjection なに/なん

• 何(なに)か (nanika)
• 何(なに)かしら (nanikashira)
• 何(なに)が何(なん)でも (naniganandemo)
• 何(なに)気(げ)ない (nanigenai)
• 何(なに)気(げ)に (nanigeni)
• 何(なに)事(ごと) (nanigoto)
• 何(なに)卒(とぞ) (nanitozo)
• 何(なに)様(さま) (nanisama)
• 何(なに)しろ (nanishiro)
• 何(なに)人(じん) (nanijin)
• 何(なに)々(なに) (naninani)
• 何(なに)一(ひと)つ (nanihitotsu)
• 何(なに)も (nanimo)
• 何(なに)もかも (nanimokamo)
• 何(なに)者(もの) (nanimono)
• 何(なん)せ (nanse)
• 何(なん)だか (nandaka)
• 何(なん)たる (nantaru)
• 何(なん)で (nande)
• 何(なん)でも (nandemo)
• 何(なん)でもかんでも (nandemokandemo)
• 何(なん)とか (nantoka)
• 何(なん)とかかんとか (nantokakantoka)
• 何(なん)とかして (nantokashite)
• 何(なん)なり (nannari)
• 何(なん)人(ぴと) (nanpito)
• 何(なん)等(ら) (nanra)
• 何(なん)らか (nanraka)

Related terms

• 何(ど)れ (dore) which one?
• 何(ど)の (dono) (of) what?
• 何(ど)処(こ) (doko) where?
• 何(ど)方(ちら) (dochira) which way?
• 如何(どう) (dō) in what manner?

Descendants

• → Chinese: 納尼 / 纳尼 (nàní)
• → English: nani

See also

Japanese demonstratives

	ko- “this” (close to speaker)	so- “that” (close to listener)	a- “that over there” (far from both)	do- “which” (indeterminate, question)
Object	これ (kore)	それ (sore)	あれ (are)	どれ (dore)
	これら (korera)	それら (sorera)	あれら (arera)	—
Determiner	この (kono)	その (sono)	あの (ano)	どの (dono)
	これらの (korera no)	それらの (sorera no)	あれらの (arera no)	—
Kind	こんな (konna)	そんな (sonna)	あんな (anna)	どんな (donna)
	こういう (kō iu)	そういう (sō iu)	ああいう (ā iu)	どういう (dō iu)
Place	ここ (koko)	そこ (soko)	あそこ (asoko)*	どこ (doko)
	こっから (kokkara)	そっから (sokkara)	—	どっから (dokkara)
Direction / Human	こちら (kochira)	そちら (sochira)	あちら (achira)	どちら (dochira)
	こなた (konata)	そなた (sonata)	あなた (anata)	どなた (donata)
Direction	こっち (kotchi)	そっち (sotchi)	あっち (atchi)	どっち (dotchi)
Human	こいつ (koitsu)†	そいつ (soitsu)†	あいつ (aitsu)†	どいつ (doitsu)†
Manner	こう (kō)	そう (sō)	ああ (ā)**	どう (dō)
Degree	これくらい (kore kurai)	それくらい (sore kurai)	あれくらい (are kurai)	どれくらい (dore kurai)
	これだけ (kore dake)	それだけ (sore dake)	あれだけ (are dake)	どれだけ (dore dake)
	これほど (kore hodo)	それほど (sore hodo)	あれほど (are hodo)	どれほど (dore hodo)
* irregular ** regular (long vowel) † potentially rude or derogatory

The kanji 此(こ) (ko), 其(そ) (so), 彼(あ) (a), and 何(ど) (do) can be used for determiners, but they are almost always spelled in hiragana.

Classical Japanese pronouns and demonstratives

	a-/wa- “I, we” (first person)	na-/-ma- “you, ye, thou” (second person)	k- “this” (close to speaker)	s- “that” (close to listener)	a-/ka- “that over there” (far from both)	i-/ta-/nani- “who, what, where, how, when” (interrogative)	ono- “oneself” (reflexive)
Person	あ (a) あれ (are) わ (wa) われ (ware) まろ (maro)	な (na) なれ (nare) なんぢ (nanji) まし (mashi) いまし (imashi) みまし (mimashi) きみ (kimi)	こ (ko) これ (kore)	そ (so) それ (sore)	あ (a) あれ (are) か (ka) かれ (kare)	た (ta) たれ (tare) なにがし (nanigashi)	おの (ono) おのれ (onore)
Thing			こ (ko) これ (kore)	そ (so) それ (sore)	あ (a) あれ (are) か (ka) かれ (kare)	いづれ (izure) なに (nani)
Location			ここ (koko)	そこ (soko)	あしこ (ashiko) かしこ (kashiko)	いづく (izuku) いづこ (izuko) いどこ (idoko) どこ (doko)
Direction			こち (kochi) こなた (konata)	そち (sochi) そなた (sonata)	あち (achi) あなた (anata) かなた (kanata)	いづち (izuchi) いづら (izura) いづかた (izukata)
Manner			か (ka) かく (kaku) かくて (kakute) かう (kō)	さ (sa) さて (sate) しか (shika)		いか (ika)
Time						いつ (itsu)

Prefix

何(なん) • (nan-) 

1. what number, how many (used with a counter)
2. (used with も) many (used with a counter)

   この広(こう)告(こく)を何(なん)回(かい)も見(み)た

   kono kōkoku o nankai mo mita

   I've seen this ad many times

Derived terms

Derived terms from prefix なん-

• 何(なん)月(がつ) (nangatsu)
• 何(なん)歳(さい) (nansai)
• 何(なん)時(じ) (nanji)
• 何(なん)度(ど) (nando)
• 何(なん)日(にち) (nannichi)
• 何(なん)番(ばん)目(め) (nanbanme)
• 何(なん)曜(よう)日(び) (nan'yōbi)

References

• Unknown (794) Yoshinori Kobayashi, editor, Shin'yaku Kegonkyō Ongi Shiki (Kojisho Ongi Shūsei) (in Japanese), volume 1, Kyūko Shoin, published 1978, →ISBN.

Korean

Etymology

From Middle Chinese 何 (MC ha).

Hanja

Wikisource

何 (eumhun 어찌 하 (eojji ha))

1. hanja form^? of 하 (“how; what”)

Compounds

• 하필 (何必, hapil)
• 기하학 (幾何學, gihahak)
• 육하원칙 (六何原則, yukhawonchik)

References

• 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

Kanji

何

(Second grade kyōiku kanji)

Readings

• Kun: ぬー (nū, 何)

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /nuː/

Pronoun

何(ぬー) (nū) 

1. what

Miyako

Kanji

何

(Second grade kyōiku kanji)

Readings

• Kun: のー (nō, 何)

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /noː/

Pronoun

何(のー) (nō) 

1. what

Okinawan

Kanji

何

(Second grade kyōiku kanji)

Readings

• Kun: ぬー (nū, 何)

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /nuː/

Pronoun

何(ぬー) (nū) 

1. what

Vietnamese

Han character

何: Hán Nôm readings: hà, gã, há

1. This term needs a translation to English. Please help out and add a translation, then remove the text {{rfdef}}.

References

• Nom Foundation

Yaeyama

Kanji

何

(Second grade kyōiku kanji)

Readings

• Kun: のー (nō, 何)

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /noː/

Pronoun

何(のー) (nō) 

1. what

Yonaguni

Kanji

何

(Second grade kyōiku kanji)

Readings

• Kun: ぬー (nū, 何)

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /nuː/

Pronoun

何(ぬー) (nū) 

1. what