何 (hé) is a Chinese character meaning “what”. It is written from 亻 (person (the form 人 takes on the left)) and 可 (can; may; approve), side by side, and takes 7 strokes.
Build the character for “what; which”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
亻 + 可
Left–right structure
Structure from: 说文解字·人部（何，儋也。从人可聲）；现代字形以 hanzi-writer-data 2.0.1 核验：7 画 = 亻 2 画 + 可 5 画
Memory aid
A person (亻) turns to you asking whether it can (可) be done — the question itself: what?
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
7 strokes
In real words
- 任何rèn héany; whatever何 = hé
- 如何rú héhow; in what way何 = hé
- 何况hé kuàngmuch less; let alone何 = héHSK 5
- 奈何nài héhow; to do something about (someone or something)何 = hé
Go deeper
All readings
what; which
what; which; how; why — a question word, mostly in written and set expressions
什么；哪个；怎么。多用于书面语和固定词语中表示疑问。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 任何rèn héany; whatever何 = hé
- 如何rú héhow; in what way何 = hé
- 何况hé kuàngmuch less; let alone何 = héHSK 5
- 奈何nài héhow; to do something about (someone or something)何 = hé
Sound component
可 family onset shift
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 何 mean?
何 (hé) means what; which; how; why — a question word, mostly in written and set expressions.
How do you pronounce 何?
It is pronounced hé.
What parts is 何 made of?
亻 (person (the form 人 takes on the left)) and 可 (can; may; approve), side by side. The recorded source is: 说文解字·人部（何，儋也。从人可聲）；现代字形以 hanzi-writer-data 2.0.1 核验：7 画 = 亻 2 画 + 可 5 画. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 何 have?
7. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 何?
人. The radical is how the character is filed in a dictionary — it is not the whole story of how the character is built.
What words use 何?
Common ones are 任何 and 如何. The reading of 何 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.