禾 (hé): (bound form) grain plant, cereal crop

禾 (hé) is a Chinese character meaning “(bound form) grain plant.” Classified as HSK Level 7-9 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of 丿 (structural) and 木 (structural). It ranks #2940 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).

Etymologically pictographic, 禾 a plant stalk with a sagging head. Its radical form 禾 (grain) appears in many related characters such as 秋 (qiū, autumn), 科 (kē, branch of study), 租 (zū, to hire).

Spoken pronunciation

HSK 7-9 Radical: 禾 grain5 strokesFrequency #2940丿 structural 木 structural

Definitions

(bound form) grain plant
cereal crop

Etymology & Origin

禾

pictographicA plant stalk with a sagging head

Decomposition: ⿱丿木 (layout: top-bottom)

Components:丿structural 木structural

Stroke Order

Practice writing 禾 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
禾本科	hé běn kē	Graminae or Poaceae, the grass family
乌尔禾区	wū ěr hé qū	Orku, a district of Karamay City 克拉瑪依市\|克拉玛依市, Xinjiang
禾木科	hé mù kē	gramineae (family including bamboo, cereals, rice)
乌尔禾proper-noun	wū ěr hé	see 烏爾禾區\|乌尔禾区
禾场noun	hé cháng	threshing floor
禾草noun	hé cǎo	grass
嘉禾县	jiā hé xiàn	Jiahe, a county in Chenzhou City 郴州市, Hunan
禾谷	hé gǔ	cereal
柴禾妞noun	chái hé niū	(dialect) country girl
爪哇禾雀	zhǎo wā hé què	(bird species of China) Java sparrow (Lonchura oryzivora)
嘉禾noun	jiā hé	see 嘉禾縣\|嘉禾县
禾秆noun	hé gǎn	straw
柴禾noun	chái hé	plant material used as fuel (firewood, straw, leaves etc)
禾苗noun	hé miáo	seedling (of rice or other grain)
禾稻noun	hé dào	paddy (rice)

Total compounds

As first character

As last character

As middle character

禾 appears in 15 compound words: 53 as the first character, 20 as the last, and 27 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 禾 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.

嘉jiā

0.5344,162 co-occurrences

灿càn

0.492182 co-occurrences

稼jià

0.480120 co-occurrences

唆suō

0.475130 co-occurrences

馨xīn

0.400130 co-occurrences

咀jǔ

0.399100 co-occurrences

厦shà

0.391196 co-occurrences

帖tiē

0.391130 co-occurrences

耘yún

0.38826 co-occurrences

泰tài

0.370515 co-occurrences

Example Sentences

AI-Generated

禾字的写法很特别，让我印象深刻。

hé zì de xiě fǎ hěn tè bié , ràng wǒ yìn xiàng shēn kè .

The way the character "禾" is written is quite unique and has left a deep impression on me.

The Beijing NewsMar 2026

禾禾同学会 | 王春明:从“顶尖猎手”到“...

hé hé tóng xué huì wáng chūn míng : cóng dǐng jiān liè shǒu dào . . .

Hehe Alumni Association | Wang Chunming: From "Top Headhunter" to "..."

UdnnewsindexMar 2026

禾伸堂攻AI伺服器电源 AI用被动元件占比...

hé shēn táng gōng A I sì fú qì diàn yuán A I yòng bèi dòng yuán jiàn zhàn bǐ . . .

Heshentang Targets AI Server Power Supplies; Passive Components Account for...

StheadlineMar 2026

...晒胸前春光发展“低胸经济”?女人四十不再禾秆冚珍珠明言有钱先照顾到男友

. . . shài xiōng qián chūn guāng fā zhǎn dī xiōng jīng jì ? nǚ rén sì shí bù zài hé 秆冚 zhēn zhū míng yán yǒu qián xiān zhào gù dào nán yǒu

...Flaunting cleavage to capitalize on the "low-cut trend"? Women in their forties no longer hide their assets; they openly say that when they have money, they prioritize their boyfriends first

東方日報Feb 2026

禾确特:兵工厂“大”煞车

hé què tè : bīng gōng hǎn dà 煞 chē

Hequete: Arsenal "big" brakes

東方日報Feb 2026

禾确特:红军快入局轻松扑锤

hé què tè : hóng jūn kuài rù jú qīng sōng pū chuí

Hequete: The Reds are quick to enter the game and easily pounce on the hammer

Character Family

Frequently Asked Questions

What does 禾 (hé) mean in Chinese?

禾 (hé) primarily means "(bound form) grain plant." It is classified as HSK Level 7-9, making it an expert-level character. It ranks #2940 in character frequency.

How many strokes does 禾 have?

禾 is written with 5 strokes. The correct stroke order matters for recognition and handwriting speed — practice with the animated guide above to build proper technique.

What is the radical of 禾?

The radical associated with 禾 is 禾 (grain). This radical appears in many characters related to grain.

What are the components of 禾?

禾 is composed of: 丿 (structural), 木 (structural). Its IDS decomposition is ⿱丿木 with a top-bottom layout. Understanding the components helps with both memorization and recognizing related characters.

What are common words containing 禾?

Common words with 禾 include: 禾本科 (hé běn kē, "Graminae or Poaceae, the grass family"); 乌尔禾区 (wū ěr hé qū, "Orku, a district of Karamay City 克拉瑪依市|克拉玛依市, Xinjiang"); 禾木科 (hé mù kē, "gramineae (family including bamboo, cereals, rice)"); 乌尔禾 (wū ěr hé, "see 烏爾禾區|乌尔禾区"); 禾场 (hé cháng, "threshing floor"). There are over 15 compound words containing this character.

What characters sound the same as 禾 (hé)?

Several characters share the pronunciation hé: 和 (and, peace), 合 (to close), 何 (what, how), 河 (river), and 6 more. Context and tones help distinguish between them in speech and writing.

Is 禾 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?

Yes, 禾 is written the same way in both simplified and traditional Chinese.

Practice writing 禾 with real-time feedback

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