话 is a Chinese character with 8 strokes, radical 讠 (speech), HSK 1 on the new exam.
Etymology
Oracle-bone origin
话 has no oracle bone form. The traditional 話 is a phono-semantic compound: 言 (speech) gives the meaning and 舌 (tongue) is sometimes analysed as phonetic, sometimes as a second semantic element reinforcing the speech idea. 舌 itself is a clear pictograph of a tongue extended from a mouth.
Form evolution
The character appears first in seal script as 話, already a compound of 言 and 舌. Clerical and regular scripts preserve this structure. In the modern simplified form 话, 言 is reduced to 讠 but 舌 is kept intact, so the right side is still recognisably the tongue pictograph.
How the meaning evolved
The original meaning was speech or words spoken, and this has stayed remarkably stable. Modern uses extend to conversation (谈话), topic (话题), and colloquial saying (俗话). Unlike 语, which leans toward language as a system, 话 emphasises the concrete utterance.
Cultural note
The distinction between 话 and 语 trips up almost every learner. 普通话 (common speech) names the standard spoken form, while 汉语 names the Chinese language as a whole. A useful rule of thumb: 话 is what comes out of a mouth, 语 is the system behind it.
Mnemonic
Words from the tongue — speech, language
Decomposition
Breaking a character into its components makes it far easier to recall. Each component above links to its own detail page.
Basic info
| Stroke count | 8 strokes |
| Radical | 讠 (#149: speech) |
| New HSK exam | Recognise at HSK 1 |
| Frequency | #122 most common |
Example sentences
Words containing 话
Related characters
Similar meaning (abstract)
On the new HSK 1 exam
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Frequently Asked Questions
Appears in these articles
Reviewed by RJ Murray, Founder, HSK Lord.