華

简 华 · 繁 華
Mandarin · pinyin huā#

Meanings · huā

  1. old variant of 花 huā
  2. flower
Mandarin · pinyin huá#

Meanings · huá

  1. magnificent
  2. splendid
  3. flowery
Mandarin · pinyin Huá#

Meanings · Huá

  1. abbr. for China
Mandarin · pinyin Huà#

Meanings · Huà

  1. Mount Hua 華山 Huà Shān in Shaanxi
  2. surname Hua
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Characters in this entry

華
Look up this written character
华
huá · flowery; illustrious; Chinese
Written characters and their own readings; the entry’s pronunciation is shown above.

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Mandarin tones

1 · hua1

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Read this spelling in Classical texts

Follow a written form into the eight pinned witnesses: Analects, Mencius, Laozi, Zhuangzi, Xunzi, Han Feizi, Sunzi and the Mao Shijing. A match is a place to investigate; it does not prove that a modern dictionary sense fits the passage.

華 · find source passages ↗ · 华 · find source passages ↗

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 32 senses · 3 Cantonese readings

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

faa1 · waa4 · waa6

Cantonese word readings for 華. This lexicon supplies readings, not definitions.

CanCLID contributors · CC BY 4.0 · source & license · Data pack

Wiktionary English definitions · Chinese section

Independent source senses for this spelling, with usage labels retained. Not matched to the pronunciation above.

character · Etymology 1

  1. (literary) to blossom; to come into flower; to flower (of plants)
  2. radiance; brilliance; splendour; lustre
  3. a coloured halo around the sun or moon
  4. ornate; magnificent; gorgeous; resplendent; splendid
  5. colourful; decorated; painted (esp. of carvings, architecture, ornaments)
  6. literary grace; elegance; polish; talent (in writing)
  7. essence; quintessence; the best part of (a work, speech, etc.)
  8. (literary) fame; reputation; prestige; renown
  9. (literary, figurative) promotion; advancement; elevation; refinement
  10. prosperous; flourishing; thriving; bustling
  11. glory; splendour; honour; prosperity
  12. time; years; season; (by extension) one’s best years
  13. youth; youthful
  14. (metonymic) short for 華夏/华夏 (Huáxià) or short for 中華/中华 (Zhōnghuá); China; the Chinese (people/civilization)
  15. the Chinese language
  16. (honorific) your; your honourable (used before nouns)
  17. (literary) (hair) grey; white-streaked
  18. (historical) face powder; cosmetic powder
  19. (physics, chemistry) to undergo sublimation or deposition
  20. (historical) a carriage canopy / plume-like ornament
  21. (historical) the fruit of a gourd/cucurbit plant
  22. (literary, rare) delicious; choice (of food)
  23. (archaic, rare) red or yellow
  24. (obsolete) alternative form of 譁 /哗 (“noisy; clamorous”)

character · Etymology 2

  1. Used in transcription.

character · Etymology 3

  1. (literary) flower; blossom
  2. (literary, rare) to split (in the middle); to cleave; to cut open lengthwise
  3. (traditional Chinese medicine) a “flower pulse” (a weak, floating pulse)

character · Etymology 4

  1. (~山) Mount Hua (a mountain in Shaanxi)
  2. original form of 樺/桦 (huà, “birch”)
  3. a surname

character · Etymology 5

  1. (archaic) intertwined; crisscrossing; irregular

Source page · dump 2026-09-02 · Contributors & history

Wiktionary contributors · CC BY-SA 4.0 · source & license · Data pack

華 · hua1 · hua2 · Hua2 · Hua4
CC-CEDICT contributors and MDBG · edition 2026-10-13 · source lines 94,585, 94,586, 94,583, 94,584
Original dictionary · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Source & transformation details
Exact source records華 华 [hua1] /old variant of 花[hua1]/flower/華 华 [hua2] /magnificent/splendid/flowery/華 华 [Hua2] /abbr. for China/華 华 [Hua4] /Mount Hua 華山|华山[Hua4 Shan1] in Shaanxi/surname Hua/