曷

Interrogative: "Why?" or "For what reason?"; also "What?" or "Where?".

Verbal: To stop; to cease.

Used as an interrogative pronoun or adverb. In rare instances, it may occupy a verbal position in the sentence.

Belongs to the same semantic cluster as 何 (hé) and 豈 (qǐ). While it overlaps with 何, 曷 is generally more emphatic in its questioning of reason.

The use of this glyph often signals a formal, ancient, or deliberately archaizing style.

If the text presents a choice between 曷 and 何, 曷 typically leans toward the "why" of a situation rather than a simple request for identification.