interjection #14,338

Meanings

  1. 1 oh!
  2. 2 wow!
  3. 3 (interjection expressing surprise)

Examples

HSK 1
Hē, nǐ lái le!
Oh, you're here!
HSK 2
Hē, zhème duō rén a!
Wow, so many people!

Tips

register
is a colloquial exclamation mainly used in northern Chinese dialects. It expresses surprise, amazement, or mild sarcasm depending on tone and context.

Components

radical
kǒu
mouth
Left mouth radical signals that is a vocal interjection: a breathy exclamation of surprise, mild reproach, or admiration. The mouth radical indexes the whole interjection family in modern Chinese (, , , , ).
phonetic
lotus; to carry
Right supplies the sound: hé with a first-tone exclamatory shift to hē. itself means "lotus" or "to bear a load," but in it contributes no meaning; it's a phonetic borrowing chosen for its clean h-sound. Use like English "oh" or "huh" for mild surprise.

Stroke Order