Definition
呵 (hē) means to exhale deliberately onto a surface, like fogging a window or warming your hands. Unlike 咳 (ké 'to cough'), which is an involuntary reflex, or 哼 (hēng 'to hum/groan'), which involves sound, 呵 is a quiet, intentional breath directed at something.
verb
to exhaleto breathe out (especially onto a surface)
Easily confused
- 河hélook-alikeriver
- 和hésound-alike(conjunction) and
- 何hélook-alike(interrogative pronoun in fixed expressions) how, what, why (in 为何, 如何, 何时, etc.)
- 和hésound-alikegentle, mild; harmonious
- 喝hēsound-aliketo drink
- 合hésound-aliketo close
- 核hésound-alikepit, stone (of fruit)
Examples
- 呵。Tā duìzhe chuānghu hē le yì kǒu qì.He breathed a puff of air onto the window.
- 呵。Dōngtiān rénmen cháng hē qì qǔnuǎn.In winter, people often breathe on their hands to keep warm.
- 呵呵，。Tā hē le hē shǒu, ránhòu kāishǐ gōngzuò.She breathed on her hands, then started working.
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