荷 (hé) — to bear; to carry on the back (only in compounds like 负荷, 荷载); burden; load (as part of technical terms)
Definition
荷 (hé) is a bound/technical morph meaning 'load' or 'to bear a load' — it never stands alone and only appears in compound terms like 负荷, 荷载, 荷重 (load; load-bearing).
bound form
to bearto carry on the back (only in compounds like 负荷, 荷载)burdenload (as part of technical terms)
Easily confused
- 菏hélook-alikeHe River (a river in Shandong, China)
- 和hésound-alike(conjunction) and
- 何hélook-alike(interrogative pronoun in fixed expressions) how, what, why (in 为何, 如何, 何时, etc.)
- 和hésound-alikegentle, mild; harmonious
- 嗬hēlook-alike(interjection) oh! (expressing surprise or admiration)
- 合hésound-aliketo close
Examples
- ，。Zhè ge shè bèi de fù hé tài dà, xū yào wéi xiū.The load on this equipment is too large; it needs maintenance.
- 荷。Gōng chéng shī jì suàn le qiáo liáng de hé zǎi néng lì.The engineer calculated the load-bearing capacity of the bridge.
- 荷？Zhè zhǒng cái liào de hé zhòng jí xiàn shì duō shǎo?What is the weight limit of this material?
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.
Meaning part形符xíngfú
艸艸cǎograss; plant
荷 has 艸, the grass/plant form, to show a plant, and 何 to give the sound.
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