荷 hé — lotus · English

荷

hé

lotus

At a glance · 荷

Listen

Audio is synthesized in your browser: Mandarin for the character and Shuowen text, native voices for every translation. No downloads.

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.

小篆从艸，何声，本义为莲荷。隶楷沿用，形声清晰，未见甲骨文。

What the sketch shows

Origins & notes

本义为莲，多年生水生植物。

Structure

形声字，从艸（意符，表植物），何（hé）为声符。

At a glance

Pinyinhé

Radical艹

Strokes10

UnicodeU+8377

Character type形声

Theme植物

Six languages, one character

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

English lotus The lotus plant; also to carry (hè).

Français lotus La plante de lotus ; aussi porter (hè).

Español loto La planta de loto; también llevar (hè).

العربية لوتس نبات اللوتس؛ ويُستعار للحمل (hè).

Русский лотос Растение лотос; также нести (hè).

Common words

荷花hé huālotus
荷hécarry

◉ Listen