函 (hán): envelope, case, letter
函 (hán) is a Chinese character meaning “envelope.” Classified as HSK Level 7-9 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of 凵 (structural). It ranks #1924 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).
Etymologically derived, 函 letters placed in a container 凵. Its radical form 凵 (open mouth) appears in many related characters such as 出 (chū, to go out), 击 (jī, to hit), 凶 (xiōng, terrible).
Definitions
- envelope
- case
- letter
Etymology & Origin
ideographicLetters placed in a container 凵
Stroke Order
Practice writing 函 with real-time feedback — trace each stroke in the correct order and build muscle memory in the HanziFeed app.
Words & Compounds
Common Compounds
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 邀请函 | yāo qǐng hán | invitation letter |
| 函数 | hán shù | function (math.) |
| 信函 | xìn hán | letter |
| 函授 | hán shòu | to teach by correspondence |
| 回函 | huí hán | a reply (in writing) |
| 致函 | zhì hán | to send a letter |
| 函馆 | hán guǎn | Hakodate, main port of south Hokkaidō 北海道[Bei3 hai3 dao4], Japan |
| 三角函数 | sān jiǎo hán shù | trigonometric function |
| 公函 | gōng hán | official letter |
| 函件 | hán jiàn | letters |
| 函购 | hán gòu | mail order |
| 实变函数论 | shí biàn hán shù lùn | (math.) theory of functions of a real variable |
| 代数函数论 | dài shù hán shù lùn | algebraic function theory (math.) |
| 一次函数 | yī cì hán shù | linear function (math.) |
| 复变函数论 | fù biàn hán shù lùn | (math.) theory of functions of a complex variable |
函 appears in 62 compound words: 26 as the first character, 24 as the last, and 50 in a middle position. Compound statistics computed from SUBTLEX-CH and HSK 3.0 vocabulary data.
Strongest Collocations
Characters that most frequently co-occur with 函 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.
Idioms & Chengyu (4)
Example Sentences
函字由8笔画组成，结构很巧妙。
hán zì yóu bǐ huà zǔ chéng , jié gòu hěn qiǎo miào .
The character "函" consists of eight strokes and features a remarkably ingenious structure.
宏福苑|宏业大会前私下函法团主席 物管吁勿拆信保公平惟未获理
hóng fú 苑 hóng yè dà huì qián sī xià hán fǎ tuán zhǔ xí wù guǎn xū wù chāi xìn bǎo gōng píng wéi wèi huò lǐ
伊朗总统致函美国人民质疑美国优先政策
yī lǎng zǒng tǒng zhì hán měi guó rén mín zhì yí měi guó yōu xiān zhèng cè
【函转】嘉义大学办理“教师英语教学(EMI)...
hán zhuǎn jiā yì dà xué bàn lǐ jiào shī yīng yǔ jiào xué ( E M I ) . . .
[Forwarded] National Chiayi University is organizing a "Teacher English Language Instruction (EMI)...
(独家)NAND报价攀高不停 群联率先发函客户改交预付款
( dú jiā ) N A N D bào jià pān gāo bù tíng qún lián lǜ xiān fā hán kè hù gǎi jiāo yù fù kuǎn
(Exclusive) NAND quotations continue to rise, and Phison took the lead in sending a letter to customers to pay in advance
蓝白要质询总统!潘孟安最速件函文立院
lán bái yāo zhì xún zǒng tǒng ! pān mèng ān zuì sù jiàn hán wén lì yuàn
Blue and white want to question the president! Pan Meng'an's fastest letter to the Legislative Yuan
你给多少人发了邀请函？
Nǐ gěi duōshao rén fā le yāoqǐnghán?
How many people did you send invitations to?
他今晚将抵达函馆。
Tā jīnwǎn jiāng dǐdá Hánguǎn.
He will reach Hakodate tonight.
这架飞机往返于大阪和函馆之间。
Zhè jià fēijī wǎngfǎn yú Dàbǎn hé Hánguǎn zhījiān.
This plane flies between Osaka and Hakodate.
他写了一封信函认证的讨论了那个事情。
Tā xiě le yī fēng xìnhán rènzhèng de tǎolùn le nàge shìqing.
He wrote a letter dealing with the matter in all seriousness.
Character Family
Frequently Asked Questions
What does 函 (hán) mean in Chinese?
How many strokes does 函 have?
What is the radical of 函?
What are the components of 函?
What are common words containing 函?
What characters sound the same as 函 (hán)?
Is 函 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
Practice writing 函 with real-time feedback
Trace stroke sequences, hear native pronunciation, and build lasting retention with spaced repetition in the HanziFeed app.