The character 何 — “what”: how to write it and what it means
what, which (literary)
The Chinese character 何 is read hé and means “what, which (literary)”. Below: the stroke order step by step, what the character is made of and the words it appears in.
Stroke order: how to write 何
何 has 7 strokes. At each step the new stroke is highlighted — write them in the same order: top to bottom and left to right, horizontal before vertical, a frame before what is inside it, and the bottom stroke of the frame last.
To train your hand, print a handwriting sheet for 何, with strokes to trace and empty squares.
What 何 is made of
On the left, 亻 “person”; on the right, 可 kě hints at the sound. Sounds like 河 hé “river”.
The parts of a character hint at its meaning or its reading — more in the article “Chinese character radicals”.
Words with 何
Frequently asked questions
How do you write the character 何?
何 has 7 strokes. They follow the usual rules: top to bottom, left to right, horizontal before vertical, outside before inside. The order of each stroke is shown on this page.
What does 何 mean?
何 means “what, which (literary)”. It appears in 任何 (“any”), 如何 (“how”), 为何 (“why”).
How do you pronounce 何?
何 is read hé. The tone is part of the reading: with another melody it becomes another syllable.
How many strokes does 何 have?
7 strokes.
More characters on the page “Chinese characters with meanings” and in the list of HSK characters by level; whole words are in the dictionary.
Write 何 yourself
In the lessons you write characters stroke by stroke with a finger or a mouse, and the course checks the order. You can start for free, no sign-up needed.
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