汉 hàn — Han (river, dynasty) · English

汉

hàn

Han (river, dynasty)

At a glance · 汉

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Evolution of the glyph

Five stages, from a sketch of the real object to regular script — tap a stage, drag the timeline, or play the animation.

Object sketchBefore writing · drawing what was seen
Oracle boneShang dynasty · c. 1300–1046 BCE
Seal scriptQin dynasty · 221–206 BCE
Clerical scriptHan dynasty · 206 BCE–220 CE
Regular scriptWei–Jin to Tang · c. 3rd–9th century CE

Object sketchBefore writing · drawing what was seenOracle boneShang dynasty · c. 1300–1046 BCESeal scriptQin dynasty · 221–206 BCEClerical scriptHan dynasty · 206 BCE–220 CERegular scriptWei–Jin to Tang · c. 3rd–9th century CE

⚠ Some ancient forms are not attested：oracle bone form、seal script form。No excavated oracle bone / seal artifact is attested for this character yet; we leave it blank rather than fabricate.

小篆从水堇声，形声字，本指汉水。后以「汉」称朝代与民族。隶楷作「漢」，简化作「汉」。

What the sketch shows

Origins & notes

「汉」本为水名，引申为朝代名、汉族。

Structure

形声字，水（氵）为意符，堇为声符。

At a glance

Pinyinhàn

Radical氵

Strokes5

UnicodeU+6C49

Character type形声

Theme地理

Six languages, one character

Each page offers hreflang versions; switching language keeps the glyphs and meanings aligned.

English Han (river, dynasty) The Han River; the Han dynasty, the Han people.

Français Han (rivière, dynastie) La rivière Han; la dynastie Han, le peuple Han.

Español Han (río, dinastía) El río Han; la dinastía Han, el pueblo Han.

العربية هان (نهر، سلالة) نهر هان؛ سلالة هان وقوم هان.

Русский Хань (река, династия) Река Хань; династия Хань, народ хань.

Common words

汉字hàn zìChinese character
汉语hàn yǔChinese

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