哈

An onomatopoetic syllable for laughter or breathing.

In extended modern usage: sound of laughter (“하하”), and a frequent phonetic component in foreign transliterations.

Phono-semantic compound consisting of:

口 (입 구) — semantic component, indicating relation to the mouth, speech, or breath.

合 (합할 합) — phonetic component, giving the sound hā / hap and the sense of “to join, to close.”

In Shuowen Jiezi (說文解字), the character does not yet appear, as it is a post-Qin formation, but the structure clearly follows the Han-period pattern of “mouth + phonetic.”

By later lexicons (e.g., Guangyun 《廣韻》), 哈 is recorded under the pronunciation hā, glossed as:

「張口也。」— “to open the mouth.”

Thus, the original sense referred to opening the mouth to breathe, exhale, or drink, later extended metaphorically to laughing or expressing emotion.

哈 (합) — to drink, to breathe, to laugh (archaic or borrowed sense)

哈氣 (합기) — to exhale breath

哈欠 (합견) — to yawn (lit. to open the mouth and exhale)

哈喇 (합라) — transliteration component (e.g., 哈喇嘛 Halama, Lama)

哈佛 (합불) — transliteration of Harvard

哈利 (합리) — transliteration of “Harry”

哈達 (합달) — ceremonial scarf (from Tibetan khatag)

哈蜜瓜 (합밀과) — Hami melon (Xinjiang region fruit name)

哈巴狗 (합파구) — pug dog (lit. “flat-mouthed dog”)

In classical literature, the verb sense of 哈 (“to breathe or exhale”) appears in Tang and Song texts describing sighing, yawning, or expressions of laughter.

The Kangxi Dictionary (康熙字典) defines:

「哈，張口氣出貌。」

“哈 means the appearance of opening the mouth and letting breath out.”

In modern Chinese culture, 哈 has acquired a vibrant colloquial life:

In online communication, 哈哈哈 conveys laughter equivalent to “haha.”

As a phonetic element, it frequently represents the initial “ha–” in Western names and borrowed words (e.g., 哈利, 哈爾濱).

The semantic field of 哈 thus spans from the ancient physical act of exhaling or drinking to the modern expressive sound of laughter — a vivid example of linguistic evolution from bodily motion to vocal expression.