而何

Chinese

		and; as well as; but (not) and; as well as; but (not); yet (not); (shows causal relation); (shows change of state); (shows contrast)	carry; what; how carry; what; how; why; which
simp. and trad. (而何)		而	何

Pronunciation

• Mandarin

  (Pinyin): érhé

  (Zhuyin): ㄦˊ ㄏㄜˊ

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• Mandarin
  • (Standard Chinese)⁺
    • Hanyu Pinyin: érhé
    • Zhuyin: ㄦˊ ㄏㄜˊ
    • Tongyong Pinyin: érhé
    • Wade–Giles: êrh²-ho²
    • Yale: ér-hé
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: erlher
    • Palladius: эрхэ (erxɛ)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /ˀɤɻ³⁵ xɤ³⁵/

Noun

而何

1. (archaic) what about

   • 牛謂叔孫見仲而何？ [Classical Chinese, trad.]
     牛谓叔孙见仲而何？ [Classical Chinese, simp.]

     From: Commentary of Zuo, c. 4^th century BCE

     Niú wèi Shūsūn jiàn Zhòng érhé? [Pinyin]

     Niu said to Muzi, "What about introducing Zhongren to the king?"

2. (archaic) (if it is not ...) then what is it?

   • 夫主有失行，臣不正言匡過以尊天子，反因過而誅之，代立南面，非殺而何？ [Classical Chinese, trad.]
     夫主有失行，臣不正言匡过以尊天子，反因过而诛之，代立南面，非杀而何？ [Classical Chinese, simp.]

     From: The Book of Han, circa 1^st century CE

     Fú zhǔ yǒu shī xíng, chén bù zhèng yán kuāng guò yǐ zūn tiānzǐ, fǎn yīn guò ér zhū zhī, dài lì nánmiàn, fēi shā érhé? [Pinyin]

     The emperor behaved inappropriately, and the ministers did not respect the Emperor by directly correcting him. Instead, they killed him because of his fault and stood in his place facing south. What is this but killing the emperor?

References

• “Entry #148312”, in 重編國語辭典修訂本 [Revised Mandarin Chinese Dictionary] (in Chinese), National Academy for Educational Research (Taiwan), 2021.