Writing Balance Rule: Keep the left component (今) compact and slightly narrower, leaving enough breathing room for the right radical (口) which should be neatly squared.
1. Meaning
to keep in the mouth, to contain
to hold withinto harbor (feelings or intentions)implicit
VerbNeutral#actions#abstract concepts#states
Sample Usage
这杯水含有矿物质。
Zhè bēi shuǐ hán yǒu kuàngwùzhì.
This cup of water contains minerals.
她眼里含着泪水。
Tā yǎn lǐ hán zhe lèishuǐ.
Her eyes are filled with tears.
2. Sound
/[xän³⁵]/Tone: 35
含
hánhan2
|
++
´(35)
=hán
Initial Consonant
h
Type: Velar Fricative
Sounds like: h sound as in 'hat'
Unaspirated
Airflow Tactile Test: Gentle throat friction (like fogging glasses on a cold day).
Tongue & Mouth Position: Back of the tongue approaches the soft palate to create friction without completely blocking airflow.
Final Rhyme
an
Vowel Group: -a vowel group
Sounds like: -an rhymes with 'ahn'
Mouth Shape Guide: Pronounce as standalone vowel 'ahn'.
Common Learner Trap: Keep vowel quality steady across all 4 tone contours.
Tone
T2 (35)
3 → 5 (35)
2nd Tone (Mid-Rising)
Tone Pitch & Cadence: Tone 2 starts at a middle pitch and rises sharply to the top, exactly like asking 'Huh?' or 'What?' in English when seeking clarification.
Sandhi: When followed by another Tone 2 character, the rising pitch may flatten slightly depending on speech tempo, but standard 35 contour remains.
👂
Listening trap: Confusing the rising tone (Tone 2, 35) with the falling-rising tone (Tone 3, 214), saying 'hǎn' instead of 'hán'.
👋
Physical Tone Gesture: Raise your hand upward and to the right, mimicking a rising question mark in mid-air.
3. Writing
Topology: Left-right · Strokes: 7 strokes
Writing Balance Rule: Keep the left component (今) compact and slightly narrower, leaving enough breathing room for the right radical (口) which should be neatly squared.
4. Components
Radical口 · Mouth Radical (Mouth, opening)
Semantic Clue (形旁):口 (Indicates actions or concepts related to the mouth or holding things inside the mouth.)
Phonetic Clue (声旁):今 (original sound: hán / jīn phonetic series providing the sound clue.)
Picture someone holding something 'now' (今 - jīn) inside their 'mouth' (口 - kǒu), meaning to 'contain' or 'keep in the mouth' (含).
今 Phonetic and structural component on the left
口 Semantic mouth radical on the right
Phonetic Family (形声字家族)
14· Phonetic Root: 今 (jīn)
5. History
Liushu category: Phono-semantic (形声)
Origin: Combined from 今 (jīn, now) providing the pronunciation and 口 (kǒu, mouth) indicating the physical action of holding something within the oral cavity.
Semantic Evolution: Originally meant to hold food or objects in the mouth. Over time, it broadened metaphorically to mean containing anything inside an enclosure or harboring emotions within oneself.
The phonetic component 今 originally depicted a cover or a compressed shape, which converged phonetically over centuries.
6. Sinosphere
🇻🇳
Sino-Vietnamese
hàm
Corresponds to the Vietnamese huyền tone, while Mandarin uses tone 2.
🇯🇵
Kanji (Japanese)
On: カン (kan) / Kun: ふく.む (fuku.mu)
🇰🇷
Hanja (Korean)
함
Sound Shift Bridge: The historical entering/nasal ending matches across Sino-Xenic readings ending in -m/-n.
7. Memory
Vivid Mnemonic Story
Right [今] 'now', I have something in my [口] 'mouth', so I must [含] 'contain' it without speaking!
Phonetic Family (形声字家族)
涵
hánto contain, to soakAdd water radical (氵) on the left for water immersion or deep culture.
鵎
tuǒbird speciesUses bird radical instead.
Lookalikes & Traps (形近字)
念(niàn)
念 has 心 (heart) at the bottom, meaning to think or read aloud, whereas 含 has 口 (mouth) on the right side.
8. Mastery
Active Recall Challenge
这瓶饮料不___任何人工添加剂。
Clue: hán
Common Learner Pitfall
Mistaking the left component 今 for 令 (lìng), which changes the visual memory and can lead to incorrect handwriting stroke sequencing.
Memory Prompts
Recognition: When you see 含, what does it mean and how do you pronounce it with tones?
Production: How do you write the character meaning 'to contain' or 'to keep in the mouth'?
Real-World Video Context
Watch authentic native speakers pronounce and explain this word in real-world YouTube videos.
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含hánto contain
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