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荷

Mandarin · pinyin hé#

lotus

Mandarin · pinyin hè#

to carry on one's shoulder or back
burden
responsibility

Mandarin · pinyin Hé#

Holland; the Netherlands (abbr. for 荷蘭 Hé lán)

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荷: hé · lotus, water lily; Holland

Written characters and their own readings; the entry’s pronunciation is shown above.

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Mandarin tones

2 · he2

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1character link66same-tone records

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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.

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 9 senses · 2 Cantonese readings

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

ho4 · ho6

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

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Wiktionary English definitions · Chinese section

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

character · Etymology 1

lotus
lotus leaf
(abbreviation, alt-of) short for 荷蘭／荷兰 (Hélán, “Netherlands”)
a surname

character · Etymology 2

only used in 薄荷 (bòhé)

character · Etymology 3

to carry (a load on one's shoulder); to hold
to shoulder; to bear (e.g. responsibilities)
load; burden
(physics) load; charge

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

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