话 (huà) is a Chinese character meaning “words”. It is written from 讠 (speech radical) and 舌 (tongue), side by side, and takes 8 strokes.
Build the character for “words; speech”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
讠 + 舌
Left–right structure
Structure from: 现代字形拆分，经 hanzi-writer-data 笔画数据核验（讠2画 + 舌6画 = 话8画；笔画 0–1 为「讠」，笔画 2–7 与「舌」逐笔对应）
Memory aid
Speech (讠) on the left, a tongue (舌) on the right: your tongue doing the talking — that's words, talk, speech.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
8 strokes
In real words
- 电话diàn huàtelephone; phone call话 = huàHSK 1
- 讲话jiǎng huàto speak; to give a talk; a speech话 = huà
- 对话duì huàdialogue; conversation; to hold talks话 = huà
- 话匣子huà xiá zichatterbox; someone who talks non-stop话 = huà
- 俗话sú huàcommon saying; proverb话 = huà
- 脏话zāng huàdirty words; swear words话 = huà
- 谈话tán huàto talk; a conversation话 = huà
- 鬼话guǐ huàlies; nonsense话 = huà
Go deeper
All readings
speech; words
words; speech; talk; what someone says; to talk (about)
说出来的语言；言语。也指谈论、说。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 电话diàn huàtelephone; phone call话 = huàHSK 1
- 讲话jiǎng huàto speak; to give a talk; a speech话 = huà
- 对话duì huàdialogue; conversation; to hold talks话 = huà
- 话匣子huà xiá zichatterbox; someone who talks non-stop话 = huà
- 俗话sú huàcommon saying; proverb话 = huà
- 脏话zāng huàdirty words; swear words话 = huà
- 谈话tán huàto talk; a conversation话 = huà
- 鬼话guǐ huàlies; nonsense话 = huà
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 话 mean?
话 (huà) means words; speech; talk; what someone says; to talk (about).
How do you pronounce 话?
It is pronounced huà.
What parts is 话 made of?
讠 (speech radical) and 舌 (tongue), side by side. The recorded source is: 现代字形拆分，经 hanzi-writer-data 笔画数据核验（讠2画 + 舌6画 = 话8画；笔画 0–1 为「讠」，笔画 2–7 与「舌」逐笔对应）. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 话 have?
8. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 话?
讠. 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 话?
Common ones are 电话, 讲话, 对话. The reading of 话 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.