和

hé

Pinyin
hé
Pinyin (Plain)
he
Tone
2
Strokes
8
Radical
口
Readings
héheTone: 2old variant of 和[he2]Order: 0Primary
hu2huTone: 2to complete a set in mahjong or playing cardsOrder: 1
huo2huoTone: 2to combine a powdery substance (flour, plaster etc) with water; Taiwan pr. [huo4]Order: 2
huo4huoTone: 4to mix (ingredients) together; to blend; classifier for rinses of clothes; classifier for boilings of medicinal herbsOrder: 3
Stroke Order Code
Speed
Stroke Order Data
["M 357 706 Q 471 751 500 757 Q 518 758 522 765 Q 526 777 514 788 Q 453 833 417 829 Q 410 825 409 814 Q 409 768 161 660 Q 155 651 162 648 Q 192 648 288 682 Q 297 685 309 688 L 357 706 Z", "M 383 515 Q 441 528 512 538 Q 528 539 530 548 Q 531 561 512 570 Q 484 583 461 577 Q 421 568 386 559 L 334 546 Q 169 510 81 500 Q 68 499 65 490 Q 61 480 77 468 Q 119 438 161 454 Q 254 484 321 502 L 383 515 Z", "M 380 391 Q 383 493 383 515 L 386 559 Q 390 607 401 642 Q 410 657 407 670 Q 400 679 357 706 C 332 722 295 714 309 688 Q 333 649 334 609 Q 334 579 334 546 L 334 416 Q 327 170 317 123 Q 299 42 312 3 Q 315 -6 320 -18 Q 327 -36 335 -39 Q 341 -46 348 -37 Q 375 -21 375 42 Q 374 79 380 367 L 380 391 Z", "M 321 502 Q 255 358 63 147 Q 56 137 68 135 Q 90 132 219 260 Q 279 321 334 416 C 397 523 334 529 321 502 Z", "M 380 367 Q 387 360 403 351 Q 436 329 470 303 Q 483 293 497 295 Q 506 296 509 308 Q 512 321 502 346 Q 495 365 462 378 Q 390 399 380 391 C 361 384 361 384 380 367 Z", "M 596 494 Q 584 501 547 510 Q 534 514 529 509 Q 522 502 530 484 Q 564 399 576 260 Q 577 218 599 190 Q 617 165 624 181 Q 633 203 631 245 L 626 285 Q 608 418 605 459 C 602 489 602 491 596 494 Z", "M 848 318 Q 872 436 909 470 Q 927 492 909 511 Q 890 526 829 551 Q 808 558 785 548 Q 719 518 596 494 C 567 488 576 453 605 459 Q 615 460 628 465 Q 790 498 798 491 Q 811 481 810 454 Q 803 381 790 320 C 784 291 842 289 848 318 Z", "M 631 245 Q 658 260 866 277 Q 879 278 880 289 Q 880 298 848 318 C 830 330 819 327 790 320 Q 700 298 626 285 C 596 280 603 234 631 245 Z"]
Meaning
The character **“和” (hé)** most commonly means **“and”** when linking words (like “A and B”), and it also means **“peace, harmony, or gentle”** (as in living together peacefully). In some contexts it can also mean **“to blend/mix”** or describe a **mild, not strong** taste or feeling.
Metadata
Locale: en
Cached At: 5/9/2026, 2:27:29 AM

Usage

In modern Mandarin, 和 (hé) is most commonly used as a basic conjunction meaning “and,” especially to link nouns and noun phrases: 我喜欢猫和狗 (“I like cats and dogs”), 他和我 (“he and I”). Learners encounter it early as the go‑to “and” for connecting people, objects, or simple ideas, but not for linking whole sentences or verbs in the same way English does. It also appears in set phrases and fixed patterns such as 跟…一样 / 和…一样 (“the same as…”), showing comparison or similarity. 和 also carries a broader sense of “harmony” and “peace,” which shows up in words like 和平 (“peace”), 和谐 (“harmonious”), and 和气 (“amiable”). In some contexts it can mean “gentle/mild” (e.g., 脾气很和: “has a mild temper”) or “to make peace/to reconcile” (和好: “to make up [after a quarrel]”). Learners mainly meet these meanings through common compound words rather than as a standalone verb or adjective.

Handwriting Notes

和 is usually written as a compact, fairly square character, with 禾 (“grain”) on the left and 口 (“mouth”) on the right. In everyday handwriting, the left side often becomes more fluid: the top horizontal may tilt slightly, the downward strokes may curve, and the small diagonal strokes can shorten or merge into smoother hooks. The right-side 口 is often written as a loose box that may not close perfectly, and the vertical and horizontal lines may be slightly slanted rather than strictly straight. Overall, people tend to simplify angles, compress the character vertically, and connect strokes more than in printed fonts, while still keeping a clear left–right structure so it’s distinguishable from visually similar characters. Handwritten forms of 和 vary with personal style, pen type, and writing speed. Some writers make the left radical narrow and the 口 relatively large; others balance both sides more evenly. In cursive or very fast writing, strokes may blend so that the left-side 禾 looks almost like a single flowing shape, and the box of 口 can become three sides or even just a hint of an enclosure. Despite these variations, modern AI handwriting recognition systems are trained on many such handwritten samples, allowing them to recognize 和 reliably across different styles, stroke orders, and degrees of neatness.

Description

“和” is a common Chinese character meaning “and, with” when used as a conjunction, and “harmony, peace” as a noun. It can also mean “gentle, mild” as an adjective, and “to make peace; to reconcile” as a verb. Its most common Mandarin pronunciation is “hé.”

Common Words

  • 和He2surname He
  • 总和zong3 he2sum
  • 和局he2 ju2draw
  • 和煦he2 xu4warm
  • 和缓he2 huan3mild

Example Sentences

我喜欢和。

wo3 xi3 huan5 huo4

I like surname He.

总和很常见。

zong3 he2 hen3 chang2 jian4

总和 is very common.

我们在学习和局。

wo3 men5 zai4 xue2 xi2 he2 ju2

We are learning draw.

这个和煦很重要。

zhe4 ge5 he2 xu4 hen3 zhong4 yao4

This warm is important.

请写一下“和”。

qing3 xie3 yi1 xia4 huo4

Please write '和'.

Try writing this character