话 (huà): speech, words
话 (huà) is a Chinese character meaning “speech, words.” Classified as HSK Level 1 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of 讠 (structural) and 舌 (structural). It ranks #170 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).
Etymologically derived, 话 a spoken 讠 tongue 舌; 舌 also provides the pronunciation. Its radical form 讠 (speech) appears in many related characters such as 认 (rèn, to recognize, to admit), 记 (jì, to remember, to record), 识 (shí, to know, knowledge).
Definitions
- speech, words
Etymology & Origin
ideographicA spoken 讠 tongue 舌; 舌 also provides the pronunciation
Decomposition: ⿰讠舌 (layout: left-right)
Stroke Order
Practice writing 话 with real-time feedback — trace each stroke in the correct order and build muscle memory in the HanziFeed app.
Words & Compounds
HSK Vocabulary with 话
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | HSK |
|---|---|---|---|
| 电话noun | diàn huà | telephone | 1 |
| 打电话verb | dǎ diàn huà | to make a telephone call | 1 |
| 说话verb | shuō huà | to speak | 1 |
| 谈话verb | tán huà | to talk (with sb) | 5 |
| 实话noun | shí huà | truth | 6 |
| 笑话noun/verb | xiào hua | joke | 4 |
| 讲话noun | jiǎng huà | a speech | 5 |
| 的话particle | de huà | if (coming after a conditional clause) | 3 |
| 话题noun | huà tí | subject (of a talk or conversation) | 5 |
| 通话verb | tōng huà | to hold a conversation | 6 |
| 对话verb | duì huà | to talk (with sb) | 3 |
| 听话adjective | tīng huà | to do what one is told | 6 |
| 神话noun | shén huà | legend | 5 |
| 童话noun | tóng huà | children's fairy tales | 6 |
| 话筒noun | huà tǒng | microphone | 6 |
| 话剧noun | huà jù | stage play | 4 |
| 普通话noun | pǔ tōng huà | Putonghua | 4 |
| 话费noun | huà fèi | call charge | 5 |
Common Compounds
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 说实话 | shuō shí huà | to speak the truth |
| 废话noun | fèi huà | nonsense |
| 谎话noun | huǎng huà | lie |
| 实话实说 | shí huà shí shuō | to tell the truth |
| 说来话长 | shuō lái huà cháng | start explaining and it's a long story (idiom) |
| 脏话noun | zāng huà | profanity |
| 话说interjection | huà shuō | It is said that ... (at the start of a narrative) |
| 坏话noun | huài huà | disparaging remarks |
| 鬼话noun | guǐ huà | lie |
| 屁话noun | pì huà | bullshit |
| 问话verb | wèn huà | to ask sb a question |
| 换句话说adverb | huàn jù huà shuō | in other words |
| 长话短说 | cháng huà duǎn shuō | (idiom) to make a long story short |
| 好话noun | hǎo huà | friendly advice |
| 电话线 | diàn huà xiàn | telephone line |
话 appears in 118 compound words: 16 as the first character, 75 as the last, and 8 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 话 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.
Idioms & Chengyu (18)
(idiom) not on the same wavelength; unable to have a congenial conversation; to not see eye to eye
(coll.) not at all (humble expression denying compliment); don't mention it
to be as good as one's word; to be true to one's word; to keep one's word
start explaining and it's a long story (idiom); complicated and not easy to express succinctly
Showing 12 of 18 idioms containing 话.
Example Sentences
请把刚才说的话再说一遍，我没有听清楚。
Qǐng bǎ gāngcái shuō de huà zài shuō yí biàn, wǒ méiyǒu tīng qīngchǔ.
Please repeat what you just said; I didn't hear it clearly.
〈走进中国〉春节商机!电话接不完 美甲师加班到凌晨三点
zǒu jìn zhōng guó chūn jié shāng jī ! diàn huà jiē bù wán měi jiǎ shī jiā bān dào líng chén sān diǎn
〈Into China〉 Spring Festival business opportunities! The phone can't be answered, and the nail technician works overtime until three o'clock in the morning
马年话马丨龙马精神的“龙马”究竟是什么?
mǎ nián huà mǎ 丨 lóng mǎ jīng shén de lóng mǎ jiū jìng shì shén má ?
The year of the horse talk about the horse丨the dragon horse spirit of the "dragon horse" what exactly is it?
千问“一句话下单”受年轻人追捧,00后占比超40%....
qiān wèn yī gōu huà xià shàn shòu nián qīng rén zhuī pěng , hòu zhàn bǐ chāo . . . .
Qianwen's "One-Sentence Ordering" Gains Popularity Among Young People, with Gen Z Users Making Up Over 40%...
对话滞留俄罗斯“极光村”的中国游客:路两边的...
duì huà zhì liú é luó sī jí guāng cūn de zhōng guó yóu kè lù liǎng biān de . . .
Conversation with Chinese Tourists Stranded in Russia's "Aurora Village": Along the Roadside...
对话上门做年夜饭的“95后”女生:回应春节当...
duì huà shǎng mén zuò nián yè fàn de hòu nǚ shēng huí yīng chūn jié dāng . . .
Interview with a Post-95s Woman Who Cooks New Year's Eve Dinners at Clients' Homes: Responding to the Challenge of Preparing...
你有100万美元的话，你会做什么？
Nǐ yǒu yī bǎi wàn Měiyuán de huà, nǐ huì zuò shénme?
What would you do if you had a million dollars?
他的话暗示着什么？
Tā de huà ànshì zhe shénme?
What do his words imply?
我能和老师说话吗？
Wǒ néng hé lǎoshī shuōhuà ma?
Can I speak with the teacher?
刚才和你说话的人是谁？
Gāngcái hé nǐ shuōhuà de rén shì shéi?
Who is the man that you were talking with?
Character Family
Frequently Asked Questions
What does 话 (huà) mean in Chinese?
How many strokes does 话 have?
What is the radical of 话?
What are the components of 话?
What are common words containing 话?
What characters sound the same as 话 (huà)?
Is 话 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
Practice writing 话 with real-time feedback
Trace stroke sequences, hear spoken pronunciation, and build lasting retention with spaced repetition in the HanziFeed app.