Hello, you have come here looking for the meaning of the word
河. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word
河, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say
河 in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word
河 you have here. The definition of the word
河 will help you to be more precise and correct when speaking or writing your texts. Knowing the definition of
河, as well as those of other words, enriches your vocabulary and provides you with more and better linguistic resources.
Translingual
Stroke order
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Han character
河 (Kangxi radical 85, 水+5, 8 strokes, cangjie input 水一弓口 (EMNR), four-corner 31120, composition ⿰氵可)
Derived characters
References
- Kangxi Dictionary: page 613, character 9
- Dai Kanwa Jiten: character 17245
- Dae Jaweon: page 1006, character 8
- Hanyu Da Zidian (first edition): volume 3, page 1582, character 3
- Unihan data for U+6CB3
Chinese
Glyph origin
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Old Chinese
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砢
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*ɡ·raːlʔ
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柯
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*kaːl
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菏
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*kaːl, *ɡaːl
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牁
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*kaːl
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滒
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*kaːl
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哥
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*kaːl
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歌
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*kaːl
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謌
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*kaːl
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鴚
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*kaːl
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哿
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*kaːlʔ
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舸
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*kaːlʔ
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笴
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*kaːlʔ, *kaːnʔ
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軻
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*kʰaːl, *kʰaːlʔ, *kʰaːls
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珂
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*kʰaːl
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可
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*kʰaːlʔ
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岢
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*kʰaːlʔ
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坷
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*kʰaːlʔ, *kʰaːls
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蚵
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*kʰaːls, *ɡaːl
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呵
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*qʰaːl, *qʰaːls
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訶
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*qʰaːl
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抲
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*qʰaːl
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荷
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*qʰaːls, *ɡaːl, *ɡaːlʔ
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何
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*ɡaːl, *ɡaːlʔ
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河
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*ɡaːl
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苛
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*ɡaːl
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魺
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*ɡaːl
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袔
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*ɡaːls
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阿
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*qaːl
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妸
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*qaːl, *qaːlʔ
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疴
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*qaːl, *kʰraːls
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鈳
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*qaːl
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娿
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*qaːl, *qaːlʔ
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痾
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*qaːl
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跒
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*kʰraːlʔ
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閜
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*qʰraːlʔ
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Phono-semantic compound (形聲/形声, OC *ɡaːl) : semantic 氵 (“water”) + phonetic 可 (OC *kʰaːlʔ).
Etymology
Originally particularly used for the Yellow River, with other rivers known as 水 (OC *qʰʷljilʔ). Later extended generally as a word for rivers in northern China but the influence of 江 (OC *kroːŋ, “Yangtze River; river in southern China”) has meant that modern usage tends to favor it for shorter rivers and creeks except in historical cases.
External etymology uncertain. Various hypotheses have been proposed:
- Sino-Tibetan. Cognate with Tibetan རྒལ (rgal, “to cross, to traverse”) (Coblin, 1986).
- A Mongolic loan. Compare Proto-Mongolic *gowl (“river”) > Mongolian ᠭᠣᠣᠯ (ɣool, “river”) (Norman and Mei, 1976). This was argued against in Zhang (1998).
- Derived from 湖 (OC *ɡaː, “lake”) (Matisoff, 1995).
- Takashima (2012), citing palaeographical and archaeological evidence, posits that the Yellow River's name stemmed from the shape, which resembles an adze handle 柯 (OC *kaːl), of a stretch spanning 500 to 600 kilometers "from Héjīn, Tóngguān to east of Zhèngzhōu".
Pronunciation
- Mandarin
- Cantonese
- Gan
- Hakka
- Jin
- Northern Min
- Eastern Min
- Southern Min
- (Hokkien: Xiamen, Quanzhou, Zhangzhou, Jinjiang, Nan'an, Hui'an, Zhangpu, Changtai, Longyan, Lukang, Sanxia, Taipei, Yilan, Tainan, Kaohsiung, Kinmen, Magong, Hsinchu, Taichung)
- (Hokkien: Quanzhou)
- (Hokkien: Jinjiang, Nan'an, Hui'an)
Note:
- Jinjiang, Hui'an:
- ô - vernacular;
- hô - literary.
Baxter–Sagart system 1.1 (2014)
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Character
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河
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Reading #
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1/1
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Modern Beijing (Pinyin)
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hé
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Middle Chinese
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‹ ha ›
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Old Chinese
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/*ˁaj/
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English
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river
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Notes for Old Chinese notations in the Baxter–Sagart system:
* Parentheses "()" indicate uncertain presence;
* Square brackets "" indicate uncertain identity, e.g. * as coda may in fact be *-t or *-p;
* Angle brackets "<>" indicate infix;
* Hyphen "-" indicates morpheme boundary;
* Period "." indicates syllable boundary.
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Zhengzhang system (2003)
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Character
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河
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Reading #
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1/1
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No.
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7459
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Phonetic component
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可
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Rime group
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歌
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Rime subdivision
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1
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Corresponding MC rime
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何
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Old Chinese
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/*ɡaːl/
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Definitions
河
- Yellow River, Huang He
- Synonym: 黃河/黄河 (Huáng Hé)
- 河南 ― Hénán ― Henan (literally, “south of the Yellow River”)
偃鼠飲河,不過滿腹。 [Classical Chinese, trad.]
偃鼠饮河,不过满腹。 [Classical Chinese, simp.]- From: Zhuangzi, circa 3rd – 2nd centuries BCE
- Yǎnshǔ yǐn Hé, bùguò mǎn fù.
- Moles drink from the He ; yet cannot overfill their bellies
何謂六水?曰河水、赤水、遼水、黑水、江水、淮水。 [Classical Chinese, trad.]
何谓六水?曰河水、赤水、辽水、黑水、江水、淮水。 [Classical Chinese, simp.]- From: Huainanzi, 2nd century BCE
- Hé wèi liùshuǐ? Yuē héshuǐ, chìshuǐ, liáoshuǐ, hēishuǐ, jiāngshuǐ, huáishuǐ.
- What are the six rivers called? They are named He River, Red River, Liao River, Black River, Jiang River, and Huai River.
- (obsolete, Chinese mythology) Hebo; the god of the Yellow River
- (obsolete, Chinese mythology) Yellow River's Map; the plan of the Yellow River (mystic diagram said to have been supernaturally revealed)
- (by extension) river, especially a smaller river, creek, or stream, as distinguished from 江 and 川 (Classifier: 條/条 m c; 道 m)
- 河流 ― héliú ― river
- 小河 ― xiǎo hé ― small river, stream
- (obsolete) streamside; riverside
- (literary, figurative) Milky Way
- (chiefly Cantonese) Short for 河粉 (héfěn).
- 乾炒牛河/干炒牛河 [Cantonese] ― gon1 caau2 ngau4 ho4-2 ― beef chow fun
- a surname: He; Ho
Synonyms
Dialectal synonyms of
沙河粉 (“broad, flat rice noodles”)
Variety
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Location
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Words
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Mandarin
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Malaysia
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河粉, 粿條
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Singapore
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粿條, 河粉
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Cantonese
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Guangzhou
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沙河粉, 河粉, 河
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Hong Kong
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河粉, 河, 貴刁 Malaysian style
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Taishan
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沙河粉
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Dongguan
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沙河粉, 河粉, 河
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Kuala Lumpur (Guangfu)
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河粉
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Singapore (Guangfu)
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河粉
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Hakka
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Meixian
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粄皮, 沙河粉
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Huizhou (Huicheng Bendihua)
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沙河粉
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Miaoli (N. Sixian)
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粄條
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Pingtung (Neipu; S. Sixian)
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面帕粄
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Hsinchu County (Zhudong; Hailu)
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粄條
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Taichung (Dongshi; Dabu)
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粄條
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Hsinchu County (Qionglin; Raoping)
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粄條
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Yunlin (Lunbei; Zhao'an)
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粄條
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Southern Min
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Xiamen
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粿條
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Zhangzhou
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粿仔條, 粿條
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Taipei
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粿仔
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New Taipei (Sanxia)
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粿仔條
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Kaohsiung
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粿仔
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Yilan
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粿仔
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Changhua (Lukang)
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粿仔
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Taichung
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粿仔
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Tainan
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粿仔
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Hsinchu
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粿仔條
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Penghu (Magong)
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粿條
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Penang (Hokkien)
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粿條
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Singapore (Hokkien)
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粿條
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Chaozhou
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粿條
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Shantou
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粿條
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Haifeng
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粿條
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Bangkok (Teochew)
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粿條
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Ho Chi Minh City (Teochew)
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粿條
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Singapore (Teochew)
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粿條
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Wenchang
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粄條
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Singapore (Hainanese)
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粿條
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Wu
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Shanghai
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河粉
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Compounds
Descendants
References
Japanese
Kanji
河
(grade 5 “Kyōiku” kanji)
- river
Readings
Compounds
Etymology 1
For pronunciation and definitions of 河 – see the following entry.
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(This term, 河, is an alternative spelling of the above term.)
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Etymology 2
From Middle Chinese 河 (MC ha).
Affix
河 • (ka)
- river
Etymology 3
From Chinese 河 (hé). The pronunciation is most similar to Cantonese /hɔː²¹/, although most Japanese mahjong terminology is taken from early 20th Century Mandarin.
Noun
河 or 河 • (hō)
- (mahjong) river: a player's discard pile
Korean
Etymology
From Middle Chinese 河 (MC ha).
Pronunciation
Hanja
Wikisource
河 (eumhun 물 하 (mul ha))
- Hanja form? of 하 (“river”).
Compounds
References
- 국제퇴계학회 대구경북지부 (國際退溪學會 大邱慶北支部) (2007). Digital Hanja Dictionary, 전자사전/電子字典.
Vietnamese
Han character
河: Hán Việt readings: hà (寒歌切)
河: Nôm readings: hà
- chữ Hán form of hà (“river”).
Compounds
References