花

Translingual

Stroke order

Han character

See images of 花
(radical 140 + 4)

花 (Kangxi radical 140, 艸+4, 8 strokes in traditional Chinese and Korean, 7 strokes in simplified Chinese and Japanese, cangjie input 廿人心 (TOP), four-corner 4421₄, composition ⿱艹化)

Derived characters

• 埖, 婲, 㬸, 椛, 㳸, 硴, 糀, 誮, 錵, 蒊
• 𠵅, 𢯘, 𤦙, 𩋖, 𩤉, 𩸽, 𠝐, 𫈪, 𦷌, 𠎍, 𤰏
• 𫢮, 𮖏, 𬦷, 𬧧

References

• Kangxi Dictionary: page 1020, character 21
• Dai Kanwa Jiten: character 30734
• Dae Jaweon: page 1478, character 5
• Hanyu Da Zidian (first edition): volume 5, page 3181, character 7
• Unihan data for U+82B1

• Unihan data for U+2F993

Chinese

Wikipedia has articles on:

• 花 (Written Standard Chinese^?)
• 花 (Cantonese)
• 花 (Gan)
• fâ (Hakka)
• huă (Eastern Min)
• hoe (Southern Min)
• 花 (Wu)

Glyph origin

Historical forms of the character 花
Western Zhou	Shuowen Jiezi (compiled in Han)	Liushutong (compiled in Ming)
Bronze inscriptions	Small seal script	Transcribed ancient scripts

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *hʷraː) : semantic 艹 (“grass; plant”) + phonetic 化 (OC *hŋʷraːls). Originally 𠌶 or 華 before the Han dynasty.

Etymology

Unclear. According to Schuessler (2007), either from:

• Proto-Sino-Tibetan *baːr (“bloom, flower”) and thus an example of possible *b ~ *w variation, with final -r moved to medial position. If so, cognate with 葩 (OC *pʰraː); outside Sinitic, compare Burmese ပန်း (pan:), Lepcha ᰓᰫᰲ (búr), Mizo páar. Sagart (2021) also connects it to 葩 (OC *pʰˤra), modifying Baxter and Sagart's (2014) reconstruction to *Cə-pʰˤra and proposing the sound changes *Cə-pʰ- > *Cə-ɸ- > *ɸ- > xw-.
• Or from Austroasiatic; compare Proto-Mon-Khmer *pkaaw ~ *pkaʔ (“flower, blossom”).

華 (OC *ɡʷraː, “to flower”) is a derivative.

Pronunciation

Definitions

花

1. flower; blossom (Classifier: 朵 m c; 支 m c; 蕊 h mn; 束 m c; 把 m; 盆 m c; 簇 m; 紮／扎 c)

   太陽花／太阳花  ―  tàiyánghuā  ―  sunflower

   開花／开花  ―  kāihuā  ―  to blossom

2. florid; flowery

   花花綠綠／花花绿绿  ―  huāhualǜlǜ  ―  colorful

3. pattern; design

   花紋／花纹  ―  huāwén  ―  decorative pattern

4. blurred

   眼花  ―  yǎnhuā  ―  to have blurred vision

5. fireworks

   煙花／烟花  ―  yānhuā  ―  fireworks

6. essence; cream
7. wound
8. Short for 天花 (tiānhuā, “smallpox”).

   種花／种花  ―  zhònghuā  ―  to vaccinate against smallpox

9. courtesan; prostitute
10. to spend (money, time, etc.); to cost

    這件衣服花了不到一百塊 [MSC, trad.]
    这件衣服花了不到一百块 [MSC, simp.]

    zhè jiàn yīfú huā le bùdào yībǎi kuài

    This clothing cost less than 100 yuan.

11. profligate
12. (slang) randy; lecherous
13. (slang) to be horny; to womanize

    儂又要去花儂個女朋友了是𠲎？ [Shanghainese, trad.]
    侬又要去花侬个女朋友了是𠲎？ [Shanghainese, simp.]

    From: 2007, 上海话大词典, page 52

    ⁶non ⁶yeu ⁵iau ⁵chi ¹ho ⁶non ⁸gheq ⁶gniu-baon-yeu ⁰leq ⁶zy-va [Wugniu]

    You're going to seduce your girlfriend again aren't you?

14. false
15. (Cantonese) scratched

    佢著咗呢對鞋兩個月就已經花嗮喇。 [Cantonese, trad.]
    佢着咗呢对鞋两个月就已经花嗮喇。 [Cantonese, simp.]

    keoi⁵ zoek³ zo² ni¹ deoi³ haai⁴ loeng⁵ go³ jyut⁶ zau⁶ ji⁵ ging¹ faa¹ saai³ laa³.

    He's worn the shoes for only two months and they're already all scratched up.

    個底花嗮／个底花嗮 [Cantonese]  ―  go³ dai² faa¹ saai³   ―  to have a bad record

16. (Cantonese, of images, drawings, patterns, etc.) over-colorful; chaotic; messy
17. (Cantonese, card games) flush
18. (Hong Kong) pip (insignia) (Classifier: 粒 c)
    • 1991, Fight Back to School, spoken by Police Commissioner (Scissor Legs) (Barry Wong):

    • 男人婆，同我叫嗮啲膊頭有花嘅即刻上嚟！ [Cantonese, trad.]
      男人婆，同我叫嗮啲膊头有花嘅即刻上嚟！ [Cantonese, simp.]

      naam⁴ jan⁴ po⁴, tung⁴ ngo⁵ giu³ saai³ di¹ bok³ tau⁴ jau⁵ faa¹ ge³ zik¹ kaak¹ soeng⁵ lei⁴!

      (please add an English translation of this usage example)

19. (Xiamen and Zhangzhou Hokkien) to extinguish; to put out (of fire)
20. (Quanzhou Hokkien) to disappear (of a scar)
21. (chiefly Northern Wu) Abbreviation of 棉花 (“cotton”).

    • 張家裡囡兒末張家裡花　張家裡囡兒末登勒田中卸棉花 [Northern Wu, trad.]
      张家里囡儿末张家里花　张家里囡儿末登勒田中卸棉花 [Northern Wu, simp.]

      From: , "Of whose family's this daughter, of whose family these blooms" (啥人家囡兒啥人家花), Southern Wuxi folklore tune

      ¹tsan-ka₁-li₀ ⁶noe-gni₂-meq₈ ¹tsan-ka₁-li₀ ¹hu ¹tsan-ka₁-li₀ ⁶noe-gni₂-meq₈ ¹ten-leq₈ ²die-tson₁ ⁵sia ²mie-hu₁ [Wugniu]

      Of the Chang family is this daughter; for the Chang family this cotton blooms. It is a daughter of the Chang family, who unloads cotton here in these fields.

22. (Shanghainese) to tease

    儂覅來花我了，我根本覅儂搿本書。 [Shanghainese, trad.]
    侬覅来花我了，我根本覅侬搿本书。 [Shanghainese, simp.]

    From: 2007, 上海话大词典, page 52

    ⁶non ⁶viau ⁶le ¹ho ⁶ngu ⁰leq ⁶ngu ¹ken-pen ⁶viau ⁶non ⁸geq-pen ¹sy [Wugniu]

    Stop teasing me, I didn't even want your book in the first place.

23. a surname. Hua

Synonyms

• (to spend time): (Cantonese, Hakka, Teochew) 使; (Hokkien, Teochew) 開／开

Compounds

Descendants

Others:

• → Ai-Cham: hwa¹
• → Zhuang: va

References

• “花”, in 漢語多功能字庫 (Multi-function Chinese Character Database)‎, 香港中文大學 (the Chinese University of Hong Kong), 2014–
• “Entry #4442”, in 臺灣閩南語常用詞辭典 (overall work in Mandarin and Hokkien), Ministry of Education, R.O.C., 2023.

Japanese

Japanese Wikipedia has an article on:

花

Wikipedia ^ja

Kanji

(grade 1 “Kyōiku” kanji)

1. flower
2. beauty
3. red-light district

Readings

• Go-on: け (ke)^{←け (ke, historical)←くゑ (kwe, ancient)}
• Kan-on: か (ka, Jōyō)^{←くわ (kwa, historical)}
• Kun: はな (hana, 花, Jōyō)
• Nanori: あや (aya); はる (haru)

Etymology 1

/pana/ → /fana/ → /hana/

From Old Japanese, from Proto-Japonic *pana.

Pronunciation

• (Tokyo) はな​ (Odaka – )
• IPA^(key):

• Audio

  (file)

• (Osaka) は​な (Atamadaka – )
• IPA^(key):

Noun

花(はな) • (hana) 

1. a flower

   花(はな)が咲(さ)く頃(ごろ)

   hana ga saku goro

   when the flowers bloom

   • 1999 February 4, “火(か)炎(えん)草(そう)”, in Vol.1, Konami:

     火(か)山(ざん)の近(ちか)くに生(せい)息(そく)する草(くさ)。花(はな)から火(か)炎(えん)を吹(ふ)き攻(こう)撃(げき)する。

     Kazan no chikaku ni seisoku suru kusa. Hana kara kaen o fuki kōgeki suru.

     A grass that grows near volcanoes. It breathes fire from its flowers.

   • 1999 March 1, “ダーク・プラント [Dark Plant]”, in BOOSTER 1, Konami:

     汚(お)染(せん)された土(つち)と闇(やみ)の力(ちから)で育(そだ)てられた花(はな)。とても凶(きょう)暴(ぼう)。

     Osen sareta tsuchi to yami no chikara de sodaterareta hana. Totemo kyōbō.

     A flower that grows from polluted soil and dark powers. It is very nasty.

   • 1999 May 25, “深(しん)淵(えん)に咲(さ)く花(はな)”, in BOOSTER 2, Konami:

     光(ひかり)の届(とど)かない深(しん)淵(えん)にひっそりと咲(さ)く、あまり見(み)かけない花(はな)。

     Hikari no todokanai shin'en ni hissori to saku, amari mikakenai hana.

     A rarely seen flower that silently blooms in the depths of the abyss where the sun never shines.

   • 1999 July 5, “命(いのち)ある花(か)瓶(びん)”, in BOOSTER 3, Konami:

     生(い)けてある花(はな)から、花(か)粉(ふん)を飛(と)ばし噛(か)みついてくる生(い)きている花(か)瓶(びん)。

     Iketearu hana kara, kafun o tobashi kamitsuitekuru ikiteiru kabin.

     A living vase that bites and releases pollen from its living flowers.

2. Short for 生け花 (ikebana): flower arrangement
3. Short for 花札 (hanafuda): Japanese playing cards
4. the best days of one's life
5. the best thing
6. essence

Compounds

Etymology 2

Affix

花(か) • (ka) ^{←くわ (kwa)?}

1. flower
2. red-light district

Compounds

Descendants

• → Amis: hana
• → Yami: hana

References

Kikai

Kanji

(grade 1 “Kyōiku” kanji)

Readings

• Kun: ふぁな (fana, 花)

Etymology

Cognate to Japanese 花 (はな, hana).

Noun

花(ふぁな) (fana) 

1. flower

References

• “ふぁな【花】” in JLect - Japonic Languages and Dialects Database Dictionary, 2019.

Korean

Etymology

From Middle Chinese 花 (MC xwae).

Pronunciation

• (SK Standard/Seoul) IPA^(key):
• Phonetic hangul:

Hanja

Korean Wikisource has texts containing the hanja:

花

Wikisource

花 (eumhun 꽃 화 (kkot hwa))

1. Hanja form^? of 화 (“flower”).

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.

Kunigami

Kanji

(grade 1 “Kyōiku” kanji)

Readings

• Kun: ぱなー (phanā, 花)

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /pʰanaː/

Noun

花(ぱなー) (phanā) 

1. flower

Miyako

Kanji

(grade 1 “Kyōiku” kanji)

Readings

• Kun: ぱな (pana, 花)

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /pana/

Noun

花(ぱな) (pana) 

1. flower

Okinawan

Kanji

(grade 1 “Kyōiku” kanji)

Readings

• Kun: はな (hana, 花, Jōyō); ふぁな (fana, 花)

Etymology 1

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /hana/

Noun

花(はな) (hana) 

1. (Shuri, Naha) flower

Etymology 2

Noun

花(ふぁな) (fana) 

1. (Tancha) flower

References

• “ふぁな【花】” in JLect - Japonic Languages and Dialects Database Dictionary, 2019.

Vietnamese

Han character

花: Hán Việt readings: hoa (呼(hô)瓜(qua)切(thiết)), huê
花: Nôm readings: hoa, huê, oa, ba

1. chữ Hán form of hoa (“flower”).

Compounds

References