In Mandarin Chinese, 合 (Pinyin: hé 🔊) is used as an adjective for “whole”, “entire”; an adverb “together”; and a verb meaning “to add up”, “to be equal to”, “to close”, “to combine”, “to join”, “to unite”, etc.
According to Wiktionary, 合 is an ideogrammic compound of 亼 “to gather from three sides” and 口 “mouth”:
Two mouths speaking together.
Uncle Hanzi says that “top is inverted mouth, bottom mouth, meaning to agree” and adds another explanation: “pot and lid join”. In her Chinese Calligraphy Sourcebook, Yat-Ming Cathy Ho writes:
The top inward-sloping strokes of hé and the horizontal stroke beneath them mean “heaven”, “people” and “earth”.
Lawrence J. Howell explains in his Etymological Dictionary of Han/Chinese Characters:
As per 口 (cavity → open container) + an abbreviated form of 今 (contain) → press/fit together a lid on a container, containing objects inside → fit; join; put together; meet. Extended meanings include suit; match; agree/coincide with; correspond to; be correct; add (to); combine; set/adjust (a device); adapt oneself to; and check (with/against).
Some compounds of 合 include
- 合 + 金 = 合金 (héjīn): alloy
- 合 + 十 = 合十 (héshí): “ten together”, i.e. to put the palms together (as a Buddhist greeting)
- 六 + 合 = 六合 (liùhé): the six directions (east, west, north, south, up and down); the whole country
- 百 + 合 = 百合 (bǎihé): lily (“for the numerous segmented and overlapping scales on the bulb of the lily”)
- 好 + 合 = 好合 (hǎohé): happy union (marriage)
- 回 + 合 = 回合 (huíhé): round (of sports, negotiations etc.)
In Japanese, 百合 (lily) is pronounced yuri. Yuri is also a common female given name.
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