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何

what
Stroke count: 7

Readings

On readingカ
Kun readingなに、なん、なに-、なん-
JLPT level: N5JōyōGrade 2

Meanings

  1. whatRtK
  1. you-know-what
  2. that thing
  3. whatsit
  4. whachamacallit

Synonyms

何か月

Popular Usage

如何何れ何時如何に何時か何時も如何にも何時でも何時までも何時の間にか

Radicals and components

Radical人person亻variant
Components
How it's built
何
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Mnemonic (RtK)

ⓘ

person (人) · can · mouth (口) · street (行) · nail · spike

From "Remembering the Kanji" by James Heisig · Frame 1087

Compound words

何時なんじ
what time; which hour
如何いかが
how; in what way; how about; questionable
何時もいつも
always; all the time; at all times; never; usual
如何にいかに
how; in what way; how (much); to what extent; however (much)
如何にもいかにも
indeed; really; truly; just (like); very
何時でもいつでも
always; all the time; at all times; (at) any time; whenever (you like)
何かなにか
something; some; any; somehow; for some reason
何てなんて
how ...!; what ...!; what?; what's that?
何となんと
what; how; what (a) ...!; how ...!; surprisingly
何もなにも
(not) anything; (nothing) at all; (not) any; nothing; and everything else
何回なんかい
how many times
何歳なんさい
how old; what age
何事なにごと
what; what sort of thing; everything; anything; what (on earth)?
何者なにもの
who; what kind of person
何人なんにん
how many people; a number of people
何千なんぜん
many thousands
何卒なにとぞ
please; kindly; I beg of you; if it pleases you; by all means
何度なんど
how many times; how many degrees (temperature, angle, etc.)
何らなんら
(not) in any way; (not) at all; (none) whatsoever; what kind of
何日なんにち
what day; how many days
何年なんねん
how many years; how long; what year
何百なんびゃく
hundreds
何分なにぶん
some; any; (a) little; of some kind; of some sort
何遍なんべん
how many times; how often

Kun Reading Examples

彼は彼女が何を言っているのか理解できないようだ。なに
He does not seem to be able to catch on to what she is saying.tatoeba
彼は箱にコインを何枚か入れた。なん
He put some coins in the box.tatoeba
彼は他に何ができるか。なに
How else can he act?tatoeba
何時に起きてるの？なんじ
What time do you get up?tatoeba

Additional Examples

彼は訪ねてくるたびに、きっと何かしら忘れていく。
Whenever he calls on me, he leaves something behind.tatoeba
彼は幅を利かせて何でも自分の思うようにさせる。
He gets his way by throwing his weight around.tatoeba
彼は父親の前では何もものが言えない。
He can't say anything to his father's face.tatoeba
彼は貧乏を何とも思わない。
He thinks nothing of poverty.tatoeba
何れも鉄ニ而黒漆也。
All doors were coated with deep black-colored lacquer.wiki
何れも相撲の時の曲らしい。
They seem to have been played at sumo exhibitions.wiki

Stroke Order

7 strokes

Practice Writing

Practice Writing 何

Draw with a guide, then from memory — checked at every step