The character 话 — “speech”: how to write it and what it means
speech, words
The Chinese character 话 is read huà and means “speech, words”. Below: the stroke order step by step, what the character is made of and the words it appears in.
Stroke order: how to write 话
话 has 8 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 话, with strokes to trace and empty squares.
What 话 is made of
On the left, 讠 “speech”.
The parts of a character hint at its meaning or its reading — more in the article “Chinese character radicals”.
Words with 话
- 电话phone; callHSK 1
- 说话talkHSK 1
- 打电话make a phone callHSK 1
- 的话"if" (end of condition)HSK 3
- 对话dialogue; talkHSK 3
- 笑话joke; laugh atHSK 4
- 话剧play, dramaHSK 4
- 普通话Putonghua, Standard MandarinHSK 4
- 话费phone billHSK 5
- 谈话talk; conversationHSK 5
- 话题topic of conversationHSK 5
- 讲话speech; give a speechHSK 5
- 神话mythHSK 5
- 听话obedient; obeyHSK 6
- 通话talk on the phone; callHSK 6
- 话筒telephone receiver; microphoneHSK 6
Frequently asked questions
How do you write the character 话?
话 has 8 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 话 mean?
话 means “speech, words”. It appears in 电话 (“phone”), 说话 (“talk”), 打电话 (“make a phone call”), 的话 (“"if"”).
How do you pronounce 话?
话 is read huà. The tone is part of the reading: with another melody it becomes another syllable.
How many strokes does 话 have?
8 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 话 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.
Start for free