How to Write 哈 (hā) — Meaning “ha; to breathe out”

Picture someone laughing loudly: the left 口 is their open mouth, and the right 合 looks like a person with closed eyes and a big smile (the top part like eyebrows and nose, the bottom 口 like a wide-open laughing mouth). Imagine the sound "ha ha" coming out as you draw the character.

Write the left 口 first, making it narrow and slightly smaller than the right side. Then write 合: start with the top "person" shape, then a horizontal line, and finally another 口 at the bottom that sits directly under the top part. A common mistake is making the left 口 too wide or placing the bottom 口 too low.

All three have a 口 component, but their positions and other parts differ. 哈 has 口 on the left and 合 on the right; 君 has 尹 on top and 口 at the bottom, meaning "ruler" or a polite "you". 吝 has 文 on top and 口 at the bottom, meaning "stingy". Remember: 哈 is only for mouth sounds like laughter or yawning.

哈 appears in common words like 哈哈 (hā hā) for laughter, similar to "haha" in English. It is also used in 哈欠 (hā qiàn) meaning "yawn" and 哈气 (hā qì) meaning "to breathe out warm air onto something, like a window". In everyday writing and speech, it expresses amusement or describes exhaling actions.

Common words containing 哈 include: 哈哈 (hā hā) — haha; 哈欠 (hā qiàn) — yawn; 哈气 (hā qì) — to breathe on (something).