'Hè táo' literally means 'kernel peach'—a historical name reflecting the walnut’s hard, wrinkled shell (like a peach pit) and edible inner kernel. Though not a true peach, the name stuck due to visual resemblance and traditional classification in Chinese herbal and culinary texts. Walnuts are highly valued in Chinese culture for their nutritional benefits, especially for brain health and kidney function, and frequently appear in both everyday cooking and traditional medicine.

The word is always used as a countable noun, typically with measure words like '个' (gè) or '颗' (kē) when referring to individual nuts, and '斤' (jīn) when buying by weight. It appears commonly in contexts like snacks, desserts (e.g., walnut cookies), stir-fries, and health-related discussions—never used metaphorically or as a verb. Unlike English, Chinese doesn’t distinguish between black walnut and English walnut in everyday speech; 'hè táo' covers most common edible walnuts.