Chinese word

河

Pronunciation

Pinyinhé

Meaning

  • nounriver

Example

这条河很宽。zhè tiáo hé hěn kuān

This river is very wide.

Illustration for 河 (river)

More examples

我们在河边散步。wǒ men zài hé biān sàn bù

We are taking a walk by the river.

Core concept

A long natural flow of water moves through its own channel between banks.

Common phrases

  • 这条河zhè tiáo hé

    this river

  • 在河边zài hé biān

    by the river

  • 在河里zài hé lǐ

    in the river

Similar words

江jiāng: A large, broad river that often flows a long distance.
河流hé liú: A general term for a natural body of flowing water, including rivers and other watercourses.

Definition in Chinese

天然的流动水体，常指具有明显河道和较大水量的河流，作名词使用时含河川之意。tiān rán de liú dòng shuí tǐ cháng zhǐ jù yǒu míng xiǎn hé dào hé jiào dà shuǐ liàng de hé liú zuò míng cí shǐ yòng shí hán hé chuān zhī yì

Word origin

河 (hé, "river") combines 氵 (shuǐ, "water") with 可 (kě, "can"); 氵 marks the water-related meaning, while 可 serves as the phonetic component.

Usage tips

  • The measure word 条 (tiáo, "measure word for long things") is used for rivers, roads, and other long, narrow things, which connects the grammar to their shape.

Related words

Word lists with this word