哈 (hǎ) - Meaning, Stroke Order & Audio

哈

hǎ[ha3]Tone 3

laughter, laugh, to scold, a Pekinese (pug)

HSK 3

Multiple Readings (多音字):

Guru Deep Dive

English · laughter, laugh, to scold, a Pekinese (pug)

Cached lesson

1 / 1

Topology:Left-right

Strokes:9

Writing Balance Rule: The left component (口 mouth radical) is narrower and occupies the upper-left to middle space, while the right component (合) is wider and taller, ensuring structural equilibrium.

1. Meaning

to laugh, sound of laughter (onomatopoeia)

to scold (dialect)a Pekinese or pug dog

verb / interjection / nounColloquial#emotions#sounds#animals

Sample Usage

他哈哈大笑起来。
Tā hāhǎ dàxiào qǐlái.
He burst out laughing loudly.
哈欠打个不停。
Hāqian dǎ gè bùtíng.
Yawning continuously.

2. Sound

/[xa²¹⁴]/Tone: 214

哈

hǎha3

ˇ(214)

=hǎ

Initial Consonant

Type: Velar Fricative

Sounds like: h sound like in 'hat'

Unaspirated

Airflow Tactile Test: Gentle throat friction (like fogging glasses on a cold day).

Tongue & Mouth Position: Glottal or velar friction with throat open, tongue flat.

Final Rhyme

Vowel Group: -a vowel group

Sounds like: ah sound like in 'father'

Mouth Shape Guide: Pronounce as standalone vowel 'ah'.

Common Learner Trap: Keep vowel quality steady across all 4 tone contours.

Tone

T3 (214)

2 → 1 → 4 (214)

3rd Tone (Low-Dipping)

Tone Pitch & Cadence: Tone 3 dips low like a disheartened sigh before bouncing back up with sudden realization.

Sandhi: When followed by another Tone 3, it changes to Tone 2 (rising 35), though in its reduplicated expressive form (hāha), the second syllable often takes a neutral tone.

👂

Listening trap: Confusing the dipping Tone 3 (hǎ) with the high flat Tone 1 (hā) or the sharp falling Tone 4 (hà).

👋

Physical Tone Gesture: Start at a normal speaking pitch, dip down toward your chest, and sweep back upward like a curved checkmark.

3. Writing

Topology: Left-right · Strokes: 9 strokes

4. Components

Radical 口 · Mouth Radical (mouth, speaking, breath, or sounds)

Semantic Clue (形旁): 口 (Indicates that the character relates to mouth actions, sounds, or breathing.)

Phonetic Clue (声旁): 合 (original sound: hé / hǎ)

Combine the Mouth radical (口) on the left with the phonetic component meaning 'to close / join' (合) on the right to represent the opening and closing of the mouth when laughing or exhaling.

口 Mouth semantic indicator
合 Phonetic and structural component

Phonetic Family (形声字家族)

22· Phonetic Root: 合 (gě)

5. History

Liushu category: Phono-semantic (形声)

Origin: Originally created as a phonetic loan and later specialized to represent breathing out, panting, and laughter, combining the mouth indicator with the phonetic sound 'hé'.

Semantic Evolution: Shifted from general mouth exhalations and panting sounds to universal onomatopoeia for laughter, and extended into dialectal verbs and loanword transcriptions.

Frequently used in modern Chinese chats and texts as an equivalent to 'haha'.
Used historically to phonetically transcribe foreign words, such as '哈尔滨' (Harbin).

6. Sinosphere

🇯🇵

Kanji (Japanese)

On: コウ (kō) / カ (ka)

Sound Shift Bridge: The syllable 'ha' is a universal cross-linguistic vocalization of laughter, making its sound intuitive across many languages.

7. Memory

Vivid Mnemonic Story

You open your MOUTH (口) wide and JOIN (合) your friends to let out a loud, hearty laugh: 'Hǎ!'

Phonetic Family (形声字家族)

给

gěito giveUses thread radical (纟) instead of mouth radical.

拾

shíto pick upUses hand radical (扌) instead of mouth radical.

Lookalikes & Traps (形近字)

合(hé)

Missing the mouth radical (口) on the left.

8. Mastery

Active Recall Challenge

听到这个笑话，大家都[___]大笑起来。

Clue: hā hǎ

Common Learner Pitfall

Mistaking it solely for a greeting or loanword character rather than recognizing its fundamental root as laughter and sound.

Memory Prompts

Recognition: When you see '哈', what primary sound and meaning come to mind?

Production: How do you write the character for laughing/onomatopoeia 'ha'?

哈hǎlaughter, laugh, to scold, a Pekinese (pug)

Speed:

Searching YouTube for native pronunciation videos...

0 / 0