呵 (hē) — to exhale, to breathe out (especially onto a surface)
Definition
呵 (hē) means to breathe out gently onto something, usually to warm it or clean it — as in warming cold hands. Unlike 咳 (a cough) or 哼 (a hum), 呵 is a soft, deliberate puff of breath.
verb
to exhaleto breathe out (especially onto a surface)
Easily confused
Examples
- 呵。Tā duì zhe chuāng hu hē le yì kǒu qì.He breathed a puff of air onto the window.
- 呵。Dōng tiān rén men cháng hē qì qǔ nuǎn.In winter, people often breathe on their hands to keep warm.
- 呵呵，。Tā hē le hē shǒu, rán hòu kāi shǐ gōng zuò.She breathed on her hands, then started working.
Origin
Sound + meaning六书liùshū
形声xíngshēngMost characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.
The left part 口 (mouth) points to a mouth action, while 可 gives the sound.
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