话 (huà) · words, speech, language

Meanings

1 words
2 speech
3 language

Characters

话

huà

words; speech; language

Speech radical 讠 on the left - relates to speaking.

Examples

HSK 3

我有几句话想对你说。

Wǒ yǒu jǐ jù huà xiǎng duì nǐ shuō.

I have a few words I want to say to you.

HSK 3

妈妈说的话我都记住了。

Māma shuō de huà wǒ dōu jìzhù le.

I remembered everything mom said.

HSK 5

他的话很有道理。

Tā de huà hěn yǒu dàolǐ.

His words make a lot of sense.

Tips

usage

话 appears in many common compounds: 说话 (to speak), 电话 (telephone), 普通话 (Mandarin), 笑话 (joke).

Components

radical

讠 yán

speech (radical form of 言)

Speech radical on the left - the contracted form of 言. Marks 话 as a speech-act noun. Anchors a huge family of speaking and communication words (说, 请, 让, 谁, 谢). Always the first hint that the character involves spoken language.

semantic

舌 shé

tongue

Right component 舌 - the tongue, the body part that produces speech. A double-semantic compound: words from the speech-radical plus sound from the tongue. Both halves point at speaking, with the tongue contributing the physical organ that gives the word its lively, embodied flavour.