合 (hé): to close; to shut

Meanings

1 to close; to shut
2 to join; to combine; to merge
3 to fit; to suit; to agree with
4 to be equal to; to add up to
5 whole; entire; together
6 round (of a contest or battle)

Characters

合

hé

to close; to combine; to suit; together

A lid (top three strokes) closing onto a vessel-mouth (口) — the visual moment of two halves meeting in perfect fit.

Examples

请把书合上。

Qǐng bǎ shū hé shang.

Please close the book.

这件衣服很合身。

Zhè jiàn yīfu hěn héshēn.

This garment fits well.

我们一定要合作。

Wǒmen yídìng yào hézuò.

We absolutely must cooperate.

Tips

usage

Core image: two halves meeting and fitting. Spawns a huge family — 合作 (cooperate), 合适 (suitable), 合同 (contract), 合理 (reasonable), 合法 (legal). The thread is always 'coming together / matching.'

mistakes

Two readings exist. 合 is the normal one (close / join / fit). The rare 合 is an old volume unit (one-tenth of a 升), encountered only in classical texts and historical measures. Default to hé unless the context is dry-grain measurement.

Components

radical

口 kǒu

mouth; vessel rim

Bottom 口 — also the indexing radical. Here it pictures the rim of a vessel, not a literal mouth: the round opening that the lid above settles onto. The closing of cover + container gives 合 its meanings of fit, suit, agree, total. Same radical as 同 (same) and 名 (name), where 口 is structural rather than vocal.

semantic

亼 jí

to gather; inverted lid

Top three strokes — an inverted V with an inner stroke, picturing a lid or roof closing down. Read in isolation as 亼 'to gather, assemble.' Here it depicts the cover that settles squarely onto the rim below; the moment those two pieces meet gives the character its meanings of fit, match, join.