和 (hé) is a Chinese character meaning “and”. It is written from 禾 (grain; standing grain) and 口 (mouth), side by side, and takes 8 strokes.
Build the character for “and; peaceful”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
禾 + 口
Left–right structure
Structure from: 说文解字: 咊，相譍也。从口禾聲
Memory aid
Grain (禾) on the left, a mouth (口) on the right: when there is enough grain for every mouth, people get along — harmony, peace, and the little word "and".
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
8 strokes
In real words
- 和平hé píngpeace和 = héHSK 4
- 温和wēn hégentle; mild和 = héHSK 4
- 和平鸽hé píng gēdove of peace和 = hé
- 和谐hé xiéharmonious; harmony和 = hé
Go deeper
All readings
and; peaceful
and; with; together with; gentle, harmonious, at peace
连接并列的人或事物，相当于「跟、与」；也指相处融洽、不猛烈。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 和平hé píngpeace和 = héHSK 4
- 温和wēn hégentle; mild和 = héHSK 4
- 和平鸽hé píng gēdove of peace和 = hé
- 和谐hé xiéharmonious; harmony和 = hé
Sound component
禾 family exact
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 和 mean?
和 (hé) means and; with; together with; gentle, harmonious, at peace.
How do you pronounce 和?
It is pronounced hé.
What parts is 和 made of?
禾 (grain; standing grain) and 口 (mouth), side by side. The recorded source is: 说文解字: 咊，相譍也。从口禾聲. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 和 have?
8. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 和?
口. 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 和?
Common ones are 和平 and 温和. The reading of 和 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.