河 hé — a river; (originally, with a capital) the Yellow River
hé (second tone, rising)
a river; (originally, with a capital) the Yellow River
8 strokesRadical 水Frequency #439
Pinyin
- hé (second tone, rising)
a river; (originally, with a capital) the Yellow River
Character breakdown
Ideographic description
⿰氵可The sequence reads left to right and describes how the parts are arranged.
- 氵meaning partno entry yetThe water radical.
- 可sound partno entry yet可 kě for the sound.
Mnemonic
Water 氵 with 可 for the sound. In classical texts 河 on its own meant one particular river, the Yellow River, just as 江 meant the Yangtze; both later widened into common nouns. 黄河, 河边 the riverside, 过河 to cross a river, 河南 and 河北, the provinces south and north of the Yellow River.
A memory aid written by HSK Guide editors. It is not an etymology and does not describe the historical origin of the character.