荷 meaning and stroke order
Lotus, water lily; burden, responsibility; Holland
How to write 荷, stroke by stroke
10 strokes in order. Each box adds the next stroke in red. Write top to bottom and left to right, and finish enclosing strokes last.
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Meaning of 荷
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- lotus
- to carry on one's shoulder or back
- burden
- responsibility
How 荷 is built
Phono-semantic (sound + meaning) character. Flower.
艹 gives the meaning and 何 hints at the sound.
Radical: 艹 (grass), shared by 421 characters on this site.
How to remember 荷
荷 is grass 艹 on top of 何 (hé), which gives the sound. Picture a plant 艹 floating on a pond and someone asking 何 (hé), "what is that?" It is the lotus, 荷 (hé).
Most often 荷 means lotus, as in 荷花 (héhuā). It also appears in words for mint, 薄荷 (bòhe), and in the loanword 荷尔蒙 (hé'ěrméng, hormone). Example: 夏天池塘里开满了荷花。(Xiàtiān chítáng lǐ kāi mǎn le héhuā.) In summer the pond is full of lotus flowers.
Common mistake: Learners often write 何 (hé, what) or 河 (hé, river) when they mean 荷, since all three sound the same. Remember that only the plant version has the grass top 艹. Also note the tone change: 荷 is fourth tone hè in 负荷 (fùhè, load), not hé.
Common words with 荷
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
荷 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Characters that contain 荷
Learning 荷 makes these easier to recognize and write.
Questions about 荷
How many strokes are in 荷?
荷 is written with 10 strokes. The diagrams on this page number every stroke in the order it is written, with the new stroke shown in red.
What does 荷 mean?
荷 (hé) means lotus, water lily; burden, responsibility; Holland. A common word with it is 荷花 (héhuā), meaning "lotus".
How do you pronounce 荷?
荷 is pronounced hé, in the second tone (rising).
What is the radical of 荷?
The radical of 荷 is 艹, which carries the idea of "grass". Dictionaries list 荷 under this radical.
Is 荷 on the HSK exam?
Yes. 荷 is part of the HSK 7-9 character list in the HSK 3.0 standard.
Why does 荷 mean Holland?
荷兰 (Hélán) is the Chinese name for the Netherlands, chosen for its sound. In that name 荷 just represents a syllable and has nothing to do with lotus.
Why is 荷 pronounced lightly in 薄荷?
In 薄荷 (bòhe, mint) the second syllable is usually said with a neutral tone in mainland Mandarin. In Taiwan many people say bòhé with a full second tone.