Chinese

Adverb

如何 (formal)

1. how

   她教我如何游泳。  ―  Tā jiāo wǒ rúhé yóuyǒng.  ―  She taught me how to swim.

   你現在感覺如何？ / 你现在感觉如何？  ―  Nǐ xiànzài gǎnjiào rúhé?  ―  How do you feel now?

   你覺得這個計劃如何？ [MSC, trad.]

   你觉得这个计划如何？ [MSC, simp.]

   Nǐ jiàode zhè ge jìhuà rúhé? [Pinyin]

   What do you think of this plan?

2. how about ...? (used to make a suggestion)

   下週六如何？ / 下周六如何？  ―  Xià zhōuliù rúhé?  ―  How about next Saturday?

Synonyms

Derived terms

Japanese

Etymology 1

From Old Japanese. Possibly from older form だう ‎(dau), much like the shift from かう ‎(kau) → こう ‎(kō, “like this, this way”), or さう ‎(sau) → そう ‎(sō, “like that, that way”).

The kanji spelling is an example of jukujikun, using the corresponding Chinese term for the spelling and the underlying Japanese root word for the reading.

Pronunciation

• (Irregular reading)
• (Tokyo) ど​う [dóꜜò] (Atamadaka - [1])^[1]
• IPA^(key): [do̞ː]

Adverb

如何 ‎(hiragana どう, romaji dō)

1. in what manner, how
2. what about... (used to make a suggestion)

Usage notes

The term dō is generally considered more prosaic and informal than the synonym いかが ‎(ikaga).

More commonly spelled in hiragana as どう. The kanji spelling is rare.

Etymology 2

From Old Japanese. Appears to be a compound of い ‎(i, uncertain element, might be the い prefix found in Old Japanese as an intensifier) +‎ か ‎(ka, the question marker particle).

The kanji spelling is an example of jukujikun, using the corresponding Chinese term for the spelling and the underlying Japanese root word for the reading.

Pronunciation

• (Irregular reading)
• IPA^(key): [ika̠]

Adjective

如何 ‎(-na inflection, hiragana いか, romaji ika)

1. what kind of

Usage notes

Some dictionaries^[2] class this as a bound morpheme. In practice, it generally conjugates and behaves as a regular -na adjective. In formal writing, this is more commonly encountered using the classical attributive form 如何なる ‎(ikanaru).

Inflection

Etymology 3

/ika ni ka/ → */ikanka/ → /ikanga/ → /ikaga/

Originally a phrase consisting of 如何 ‎(ika, “what kind”) +‎ に ‎(ni, adverbial particle) +‎ か ‎(ka, question marker particle).^[2][1]

Pronunciation

• (Irregular reading)
• (Tokyo) いか​が [ìkáꜜgà] (Nakadaka - [2])^[1]
• IPA^(key): [ika̠ɡ̃a̠]

Adverb

如何 ‎(hiragana いかが, romaji ikaga)

1. in what manner, how
2. what about... (used to make a suggestion)

Usage notes

The term ikaga is generally considered more formal and polite than the synonym どう ‎(dō).

More commonly spelled in hiragana as いかが. The kanji spelling is rare.

Etymology 4

/ika ni/ → /ikan/

Originally a phrase consisting of 如何 ‎(ika, “what kind”) +‎ に ‎(ni, adverbial particle),^[2][1] the normal adverbial form of adjective ika above.

Pronunciation

• (Irregular reading)
• (Tokyo) いか​ん [ìkáꜜǹ] (Nakadaka - [2])^[1]
• IPA^(key): [ikã̠ɴ]

Noun

如何 ‎(hiragana いかん, romaji ikan)

1. the whatevers, the whys and wherefores

   理由 (りゆう)の如何 (いかん)を問 (と)わず

   riyū no ikan o towazu

   without getting into the whys and wherefores of the reasons

Adverb

如何 ‎(hiragana いかん, romaji ikan)

1. howsoever, however [it may be]

Usage notes

Generally used at the end of a sentence to express doubt.

Derived terms

See also

References

1. 1 2 3 4 5 2006, 大辞林 (Daijirin), Third Edition (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Sanseidō, ISBN 4-385-13905-9
2. 1 2 3 1988, 国語大辞典（新装版） (Kokugo Dai Jiten, Revised Edition) (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan