How to write 话 (huà, “conversation”)
话 (huà), an HSK 1 character, means “conversation”, “dialect” and “language”. The traditional form is 話, 13 strokes instead of 8. Among the HSK words it appears in 电话 (“telephone”), 说话 (“to speak”) and 打电话 (“to make a telephone call”). Japanese keeps the traditional 話, read wa (“tale”).
- Pinyin
- huà
- Strokes
- 8
- HSK
- 1
- Radical
- 讠 (“speech”)
- Traditional
- 話
Stroke by stroke
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
- 7
- 8
As a left-right character it splits into 讠 (“speech”, the radical), strokes 1–2; 舌 (“tongue”), strokes 3–8, written the left part first.
- top leftdown and right
- leftrightwards → downwards → up and right
- top rightleftwards
- centerrightwards
- topdown and right → downwards
- centerdownwards
- centerrightwards → down and left
- bottomrightwards
Traditional form
- Simplified
- 话 · 8 strokes
- Traditional
- 話 · 13 strokes · see its strokes
Trace it
Follow the numbers. Tracing help
Pinyin and meaning
| Pinyin | Meanings | Traditional | In words |
|---|---|---|---|
| huà fourth tone | conversation; dialect; language; spoken words; speech | 話 | 电话 说话 打电话 对话 |
- HSK 2025 syllabus
- level 1
- 2021 standard
- level 1
- HSK 2.0
- in a level 1 word
- Words with it
- 206 in CC-CEDICT
Words with 话
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 电话 電話 | diànhuà | telephone; phone call HSK 1 |
| 说话 說話 | shuōhuà | to speak; to say HSK 1 |
| 打电话 打電話 | dǎdiànhuà | to make a telephone call HSK 1 |
| 对话 對話 | duìhuà | to talk (with sb); dialogue HSK 3 |
| 的话 的話 | dehuà | if (coming after a conditional clause) HSK 3 |
| 笑话 笑話 | xiàohua | joke; jest HSK 4 |
| 话剧 話劇 | huàjù | stage play; modern drama HSK 4 |
| 普通话 普通話 | pǔtōnghuà | Putonghua; standard Mandarin HSK 4 |
| 话题 話題 | huàtí | subject; topic HSK 5 |
| 讲话 講話 | jiǎnghuà | a speech; to speak HSK 5 |
HSK words first (CC-CEDICT).
Practice sheet
Print at 100%. Several characters: worksheet maker.
Keep going
HSK 1, in list order: