菏 meaning and stroke order
A river in Shandong province
How to write 菏, stroke by stroke
11 strokes in order. Each box adds the next stroke in red. Write top to bottom and left to right, and finish enclosing strokes last.
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
- 7
- 8
- 9
- 10
- 11
How 菏 is built
Ideographic (compound meaning) character. A green 艹 river 河; 河 also provides the pronunciation.
Radical: 艹 (grass), shared by 421 characters on this site.
How to remember 菏
Picture grass 艹 growing along the banks of a river 河 (hé). Put the grass on top of the river and you get 菏, a green river in Shandong that sounds just like 河.
菏 is used almost only in place names. The best known is the city of 菏泽 (Hézé) in southwestern Shandong, named after the old Heze lake and the 菏水 river. Example: 我老家在菏泽。(Wǒ lǎojiā zài Hézé.) My hometown is Heze.
Common mistake: Learners often write plain 河 when they mean the city 菏泽, leaving off the grass radical on top. Also do not confuse 菏 with 荷 (hé, lotus), which has 何 under the grass instead of 河.
Questions about 菏
How many strokes are in 菏?
菏 is written with 11 strokes. The diagrams on this page number every stroke in the order it is written, with the new stroke shown in red.
What does 菏 mean?
菏 (hé) means a river in Shandong province.
How do you pronounce 菏?
菏 is pronounced hé, in the second tone (rising).
What is the radical of 菏?
The radical of 菏 is 艹, which carries the idea of "grass". Dictionaries list 菏 under this radical.
Is 菏 used in everyday words?
Not really. Outside of place names like 菏泽 (Hézé), you will rarely see it. For a general word for river, use 河 (hé).
How do I tell 菏 and 荷 apart when reading?
Look under the grass radical. 菏 has the water radical 氵 from 河, so it relates to a river. 荷 has the person radical 亻 from 何 and means lotus, as in 荷花 (héhuā).