<p>和 read huo has four pronunciations:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>huō</p>
</li>
<li><p>huó</p>
</li>
<li><p>huò</p>
</li>
<li><p>huo</p>
</li>
</ul>
<p><em>Liang’an</em> defines neutral huo as:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>形容某種使人感到舒適的狀態。</p>
</blockquote>
<p>and gives the following example words:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>暖和</p>
<p>熱和</p>
<p>軟和。</p>
</blockquote>
<p>The definitions of the other pronunciations of huo certainly don’t fit. Why? Well because:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>huō can only be found in the word 傻傻和和 which means stupid.</p>
</li>
<li><p>huó basically only means: to mix with water.</p>
</li>
<li><p>huò means to mix or to blend.</p>
</li>
</ul>
<p>But this answer isn’t very satisfying.</p>
<p>Knowing that the 和 in 暖和 is the same as the one in 软和 then we can look back at an entry in <em>ABC</em>:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>软和话儿</p>
</blockquote>
<p>The given Pinyin for this word is:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>ruǎnhuóhuàr</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Here 和 is marked huó. It fits the idea that sometimes these 和 words are also pronounced he and hé. For instance <em>MOE</em> has the entry:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>暖和和</p>
</blockquote>
<p>written as:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>nuǎn hé hé</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Again: it’s second tone. So if you want an answer with a tone &amp; not just with a neutral tone, the second tone is your best bet.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-12-01T05:41:45.233Z
I just stumbled upon another *ABC* entry that further supports this: the duplicated  暖暖和和 nuǎnnuǎnhuóhuó.
gnucchi
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-12-01T10:32:52.230Z
@svenper Is that really in ABC? I don’t see it in my Pleco copy.
Mou某
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-12-01T16:10:00.250Z
Oops, I forgot the erhua: 暖暖和和儿〔----兒〕nuǎnnuǎnhuóhuór
gnucchi
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-11-29T05:10:50.577Z
2019-11-29T07:40:23.457Z
2020-06-17T09:50:11.587Z
Mou某
<p>For words like 衣服 and 朋友, we can pronounce either with full tones as yi¹fu² and peng²you³, or with neutralized tones of the second syllable like yi¹fu⁰ and peng²you⁰.</p>

<p>Then comes 暖和 which confuses me. In the Taiwanese dictionaries that otherwise show full tones, this word is still spelled as nuan³huo⁰. What would be the tone of 和 if it was not neutralized? Or is this maybe a wrong question; does this syllable 和 huo⁰ only exist in neutral tone?</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-11-29T05:29:17.263Z
These may be related: [words where it is important to distinguish between the neutral tone and the citation tone](https://chinese.stackexchange.com/questions/14826/words-where-it-is-important-to-distinguish-between-the-neutral-tone-and-the-cita) and [What difference(s) does it make to use the citation tone instead of the neutral tone, for the tail character in these words?](https://chinese.stackexchange.com/questions/16695/what-differences-does-it-make-to-use-the-citation-tone-instead-of-the-neutral)
Becky 李蓓
<tones>
Tone of 和 in 暖和
# Tone of 和 in 暖和

(Asked by: username_0 on 2019-11-29)

For words like 衣服 and 朋友, we can pronounce either with full tones as yi¹fu² and peng²you³, or with neutralized tones of the second syllable like yi¹fu⁰ and peng²you⁰.

Then comes 暖和 which confuses me. In the Taiwanese dictionaries that otherwise show full tones, this word is still spelled as nuan³huo⁰. What would be the tone of 和 if it was not neutralized? Or is this maybe a wrong question; does this syllable 和 huo⁰ only exist in neutral tone?

**Tags:** tones

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: These may be related: [words where it is important to distinguish between the neutral tone and the citation tone](https://chinese.stackexchange.com/questions/14826/words-where-it-is-important-to-distinguish-between-the-neutral-tone-and-the-cita) and [What difference(s) does it make to use the citation tone instead of the neutral tone, for the tail character in these words?](https://chinese.stackexchange.com/questions/16695/what-differences-does-it-make-to-use-the-citation-tone-instead-of-the-neutral)  

---

## 1 answers

### Answer by username_2 on 2019-11-29. Score: 3 | Accepted answer

和 read huo has four pronunciations:

* huō
* huó
* huò
* huo

*Liang’an* defines neutral huo as:

> 形容某種使人感到舒適的狀態。

and gives the following example words:

> 暖和
>
> 熱和
>
> 軟和。

The definitions of the other pronunciations of huo certainly don’t fit. Why? Well because:

* huō can only be found in the word 傻傻和和 which means stupid.
* huó basically only means: to mix with water.
* huò means to mix or to blend.

But this answer isn’t very satisfying.

Knowing that the 和 in 暖和 is the same as the one in 软和 then we can look back at an entry in *ABC*:

> 软和话儿

The given Pinyin for this word is:

> ruǎnhuóhuàr

Here 和 is marked huó. It fits the idea that sometimes these 和 words are also pronounced he and hé. For instance *MOE* has the entry:

> 暖和和

written as:

> nuǎn hé hé

Again: it’s second tone. So if you want an answer with a tone & not just with a neutral tone, the second tone is your best bet.

> **Comments:**
> **username_0**: I just stumbled upon another *ABC* entry that further supports this: the duplicated  暖暖和和 nuǎnnuǎnhuóhuó.  
> **username_2**: @svenper Is that really in ABC? I don’t see it in my Pleco copy.  
> **username_0**: Oops, I forgot the erhua: 暖暖和和儿〔----兒〕nuǎnnuǎnhuóhuór  

---

