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哈 (hā) — (interjection) ha! (expressing surprise, realization, or satisfaction); (onomatopoeia) ha (sound of laughter, often repeated)

Definition

哈 (hā) is the laugh-sound 'ha, ha-ha' (often repeated 哈哈) and a casual interjection for surprise or satisfaction — like 哦 and 哎 but tied to laughter or a cheerful reaction rather than realization.

interjection
ha! (expressing surprise, realization, or satisfaction)
onomatopoeia
ha (sound of laughter, often repeated)
Easily confused

Examples

  • 哈，！
    hā, Yuán lái shì nǐ!
    Ha, it's you!
  • ，。
    Tā tīng le xiào hua, hā hā dà xiào.
    He heard the joke and laughed loudly.
  • 哈，！
    hā, Zhè ge bàn fǎ zhēn hǎo!
    Ha, this method is really good!

Origin

Sound + meaning
六书liùshū
形声xíngshēng

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

Meaning part形符xíngfú
口口kǒumouth
Sound part声符shēngfú
合
合hé哈hā
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

哈 uses 口 (mouth) to show a mouth-related idea, and 合 as a sound part. The shape of 合 may look like two open mouths, but that is likely by chance.

Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 5HSK 2.0 Level 51000 Most Frequent Chinese Words2000 Most Frequent Chinese Words3000 Most Frequent Chinese Words5000 Most Frequent Chinese Words

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