Meaning of 话
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- dialect
- language
- spoken words
- speech
- talk
- words
- conversation
- what sb said
Measure word: 種|种,席,句,口,番
- old variant of 話|话[hua4]
How to use 话
话 means words, speech, or talk, and it appears in many everyday compounds like 说话 (shuōhuà, to speak) and 电话 (diànhuà, telephone). It also names a way of speaking, as in 普通话 (pǔtōnghuà, Mandarin). Example: 他的话很有意思。(Tā de huà hěn yǒu yìsi.) What he said is very interesting.
话 is made of 讠 (the speech radical, from 言) plus 舌 (shé, tongue). Words come out when the tongue moves, so speech plus tongue gives you 话, spoken words.
Common mistake: Learners often write the right side as 古 or 舍 instead of 舌 (shé). The top stroke of 舌 is a short falling stroke, not a horizontal line. Another trap is tone: 话 is fourth tone huà, not first tone huā like 花 (flower).
话 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Stroke order for each character
Open a character for its meaning, components and more words.
话 huà · dialect · 8 strokes
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
- 7
- 8
Related words
Words that share a character with 话.
| 电话 | diànhuà | telephone; phone call |
| 说话 | shuōhuà | to speak; to say |
| 打电话 | dǎ diànhuà | to make a telephone call |
| 的话 | dehuà | if (coming after a conditional clause) |
| 讲话 | jiǎnghuà | a speech; to speak |
| 笑话 | xiàohua | joke; jest; to laugh at; to mock |
| 对话 | duìhuà | to talk (with sb); dialogue; conversation |
| 普通话 | pǔtōnghuà | Putonghua; standard Mandarin |
| 笑话儿 | xiàohuar | erhua form of 笑話|笑话[xiao4 hua5] |
| 谈话 | tánhuà | to talk (with sb); to have a conversation |
| 话题 | huàtí | subject (of a talk or conversation); topic |
| 话剧 | huàjù | stage play; modern drama |
Questions about 话
What does 话 mean?
话 (huà) means "dialect; language" and is used as a noun.
How do you write 话?
话 is made of 1 character: 话 (8 strokes). That is 8 strokes in total.
Is 话 an HSK word?
Yes. 话 is on the HSK 1 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
How is 话 written in traditional Chinese?
In traditional characters, 话 is written 話.
What does 的话 mean at the end of a clause?
的话 (dehuà) marks a condition, like 'if'. It often pairs with 如果 (rúguǒ): 如果下雨的话，我们不去。(Rúguǒ xià yǔ dehuà, wǒmen bú qù.) If it rains, we won't go.
Why is 笑话 pronounced xiàohua and not xiàohuà?
In 笑话 (joke), 话 is usually read in the neutral tone, so it sounds light and short. This happens in some common words, but in most words like 电话 and 说话 it keeps its fourth tone.