何干 (hé gān) — (in rhetorical questions) what connection / what relation (to something)

Definition

何干 (hégān) means 'what connection / what relation' and is used almost only in rhetorical questions to deny that something is relevant. It is fixed-set: it always appears after 与, 跟, or 干 and never takes its own object.

noun
(in rhetorical questions) what connection / what relation (to something)

Examples

  • ，何干？
    Zhè shì tā zì jǐ de shì, yǔ bié rén hé gān?
    This is his own business — what does it have to do with others?
  • 何干？。
    Nǐ de jué dìng yǔ wǒ hé gān? wǒ bú zài hu.
    What does your decision have to do with me? I don't care.
  • 何干？。
    Zhè zhǒng wèn tí gēn zhèng zhì hé gān? dà jiā bié xiǎng tài duō.
    What does this kind of question have to do with politics? Don't overthink it.

Origin

Characters in this word

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

The old form of 何 drew a person carrying something on their shoulder. If the carried thing was a 戈, the 人 and 戈 parts together showed that picture.

Open 何 →

The simplified 干 stands for more than one traditional character. In most words (饼干, 干杯) it is 乾; in others (干, 干活儿) (干扰) it is 幹 or 干.

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 乾; 干 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
乙乙yǐ
Sound part声符shēngfú
倝
倝gàn乾gān
Same sound today
Open 干 →

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