荷花 (hé huā) — lotus | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

荷花 is specifically the lotus flower — not a general term for flowers (that's 花朵). Strong cultural symbol in Chinese art and literature for purity, from the line "出淤泥而不染".

noun

lotus

Measure word · 朵

Examples

荷花。
Sì yuàn lǐ de hé huā kāi dé fēi cháng hǎo kàn.
The lotus in the temple garden blooms very beautifully.
荷花，。
Tā qǐng wǒ hē le hé huā chá, wèi dào hěn qīng xiāng.
She treated me to lotus tea, which had a delicate fragrance.
荷花，。
hé huā Chū yū ní ér bù rǎn, cháng bèi yòng lái zàn měi pǐn gé.
The lotus emerges from mud unstained and is often used to praise character.

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

荷 (lotus) specifies the type of 花 (flower).

Characters in this word

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

艸艸cǎograss; plant

Sound part声符shēngfú

何

何hé荷hé

Same sound today

荷 has 艸, the grass/plant form, to show a plant, and 何 to give the sound.

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

艹化花

Meaning part形符xíngfú

艹Written in full as艸cǎograss; plant

Sound part声符shēngfú

化

Same sound today

花 pairs 艹 (grass; plant) with 化, which gives the sound.

Appears in

HSK 3.0 Level 7-9

Browse more HSK 7-9 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.