形

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See also: 彤 and 刑
形 U+5F62, 形
CJK UNIFIED IDEOGRAPH-5F62
← 彡
 		CJK Unified Ideographs 彣 →

形 U+2F899, 形
CJK COMPATIBILITY IDEOGRAPH-2F899
← 𦇚
 		CJK Compatibility Ideographs Supplement 彫 →

Translingual

Stroke order
7 strokes

Han character

形 (Kangxi radical 59, 彡+4, 7 strokes, cangjie input 一廿竹竹竹 (MTHHH), four-corner 12422, composition ⿰开彡)

Derived characters

References

  • Kangxi Dictionary: page 363, character 6
  • Dai Kanwa Jiten: character 9969
  • Dae Jaweon: page 681, character 25
  • Hanyu Da Zidian (first edition): volume 2, page 852, character 10
  • Unihan data for U+5F62

Chinese

simp. and trad.
 形
alternative forms 𢒈

Glyph origin

Historical forms of the character 形
Shuowen Jiezi (compiled in Han) Liushutong (compiled in Ming)
Small seal script Transcribed ancient scripts
Characters in the same phonetic series (井) (Zhengzhang, 2003) 
Old Chinese
硎 *kʰreːŋ, *ɡeːŋ
耕 *kreːŋ
荊 *keŋ
井 *skeŋʔ
丼 *kl'oːmʔ, *skeŋʔ
妌 *sɡeŋʔ
穽 *sɡeŋʔ, *sɡeŋs
阱 *sɡeŋʔ, *sɡeŋs
汫 *sɡeːŋʔ
刑 *ɡeːŋ
形 *ɡeːŋ
邢 *ɡeːŋ
鉶 *ɡeːŋ
型 *ɡeːŋ
侀 *ɡeːŋ

Ideogrammic compound (會意 / 会意) : 幵 + 彡. In current form 幵 has been simplified to 开.

It may also be interpreted as a phono-semantic compound (形聲 / 形声, OC *ɡeːŋ) : phonetic 井 (OC *skeŋʔ) + semantic 彡, if the original character was 𢒈.

Pronunciation

  • Dialectal data
Variety Location 形
Mandarin Beijing /ɕiŋ³⁵/
Harbin /ɕiŋ²⁴/
Tianjin /ɕiŋ⁴⁵/
Jinan /ɕiŋ⁴²/
Qingdao /ɕiŋ⁴²/
Zhengzhou /ɕiŋ⁴²/
Xi'an /ɕiŋ²⁴/
Xining /ɕiə̃²⁴/
Yinchuan /ɕiŋ⁵³/
Lanzhou /ɕĩn⁵³/
Ürümqi /ɕiŋ⁵¹/
Wuhan /ɕin²¹³/
Chengdu /ɕin³¹/
Guiyang /ɕin²¹/
Kunming /ɕĩ³¹/
Nanjing /ɕin²⁴/
Hefei /ɕin⁵⁵/
Jin Taiyuan /ɕiəŋ¹¹/
Pingyao /ɕiŋ¹³/
Hohhot /ɕĩŋ³¹/
Wu Shanghai /ɦiŋ²³/
Suzhou /ɦin¹³/
Hangzhou /ɦin²¹³/
Wenzhou /jaŋ³¹/
Hui Shexian /ɕiʌ̃⁴⁴/
Tunxi /xɛ⁴⁴/
Xiang Changsha /ɕin¹³/
Xiangtan /ɕin¹²/
Gan Nanchang /ɕin⁴⁵/
Hakka Meixian /hin¹¹/
Taoyuan /hin¹¹/
Cantonese Guangzhou /jeŋ²¹/
Nanning /jeŋ²¹/
Hong Kong /jiŋ²¹/
Min Xiamen (Hokkien) /hiŋ³⁵/
Fuzhou (Eastern Min) /hiŋ⁵³/
Jian'ou (Northern Min) /xeiŋ²¹/
Shantou (Teochew) /heŋ⁵⁵/
Haikou (Hainanese) /heŋ³¹/
Rime
Character 形
Reading # 1/1
Initial (聲) 匣 (33)
Final (韻) 青 (125)
Tone (調) Level (Ø)
Openness (開合) Open
Division (等) IV
Fanqie 戸經切
Baxter heng
Reconstructions
Zhengzhang
Shangfang 		/ɦeŋ/
Pan
Wuyun 		/ɦeŋ/
Shao
Rongfen 		/ɣɛŋ/
Edwin
Pulleyblank 		/ɦɛjŋ/
Li
Rong 		/ɣeŋ/
Wang
Li 		/ɣieŋ/
Bernhard
Karlgren 		/ɣieŋ/
Expected
Mandarin
Reflex 		xíng
Expected
Cantonese
Reflex 		jing4
Baxter–Sagart system 1.1 (2014)
Character 形
Reading # 1/1
Modern
Beijing
(Pinyin) 		xíng
Middle
Chinese 		‹ heng ›
Old
Chinese 		/*ˁeŋ/
English form, shape

Notes for Old Chinese notations in the Baxter–Sagart system:

* Parentheses "()" indicate uncertain presence;
* Square brackets "" indicate uncertain identity, e.g. * as coda may in fact be *-t or *-p;
* Angle brackets "<>" indicate infix;
* Hyphen "-" indicates morpheme boundary;

* Period "." indicates syllable boundary.
Zhengzhang system (2003)
Character 形
Reading # 1/1
No. 6862
Phonetic
component 		井
Rime
group 		耕
Rime
subdivision 		0
Corresponding
MC rime 		㓝
Old
Chinese 		/*ɡeːŋ/

Definitions

形

  1. form; shape; appearance
    形狀／形状  ―  xíngzhuàng  ―  form; appearance; shape
  2. image; appearance
  3. body; entity; contour
    形體／形体  ―  xíngtǐ  ―  physique
  4. style; vogue
  5. (grammar) Short for 形容詞／形容词 (xíngróngcí, “adjective”).
  6. to appear; to display
    喜形於色／喜形于色  ―  xǐxíngyúsè  ―  (please add an English translation of this usage example)
  7. to form; to become
    更形複雜／更形复杂  ―  gèng xíng fùzá  ―  to become more complicated
  8. to compare
    相形見絀／相形见绌  ―  xiàngxíngjiànchù  ―  pale by comparison

Synonyms

Compounds

Descendants

Sino-Xenic (形):
  • → Vietnamese: hình (形)

References

  • 莆田市荔城区档案馆 , editor (2022), “形”, in 莆仙方言文读字汇 [Puxian Dialect Literary Reading Dictionary] (overall work in Mandarin and Puxian Min), page 265.

Japanese

Shinjitai 形
Kyūjitai
形󠄁
形+&#xE0101;?
(Adobe-Japan1)
The displayed kanji may be different from the image due to your environment.
See here for details.

Kanji

形

(Second grade kyōiku kanji)

  1. shape, form, style

Readings

Compounds

Compounds

Etymology 1

Kanji in this term
形
かた
Grade: 2
kun'yomi
Alternative spelling
型

From Old Japanese. First attested in the Nihon Shoki of 720 CE.[1]

Probably related to 堅い / 硬い / 固い (katai, “hard”).[2]

Pronunciation

Noun

形(かた) • (kata) 

  1. a shape
  2. a form
  3. a pattern, die, or model from which copies are made
  4. collateral for borrowed money
  5. on a coin, the side with writing on it
    Antonym: 縵面 (name)

Etymology 2

Kanji in this term
形
がた
Grade: 2
kun'yomi
Alternative spelling
型

Derived from kata above.[1] The kata changes to gata as an instance of rendaku (連濁). Found most commonly as a suffixing element in compounds.

The standalone noun sense was originally a shortening of 女形 (onnagata, literally “woman form”), a female role played by a male actor in kabuki theater. This noun sense is only spelled with the 形 kanji.

Pronunciation

Noun

形(がた) or 形(がだ) • (gata or gada) 

  1. (kabuki, theater) Short for 女形 (onnagata), a female role played by a male actor in kabuki theater
    Synonyms: 女形 (onnagata), お山 (oyama)

Suffix

形(がた) • (-gata) 

  1. (affixed to nouns): the shape or form of the affixed noun
    渦(うず)巻(ま)き形(がた)
    uzumakigata
    a whirlpool shape
    卵(たまご)形(がた)
    tamagogata
    an egg shape
  2. (affixed to on'yomi nouns): a typical example of the affixed noun; the type of the affixed noun
    学(がく)者(しゃ)形(がた)
    gakushagata
    a scholar type
    英(えい)雄(ゆう)形(がた)
    eiyūgata
    a hero type
Usage notes
  • For a shape, the spelling 形 is more commonly used. For a type, the spelling 型 is more commonly used.

Etymology 3

Kanji in this term
形
かたち
Grade: 2
kun'yomi
Alternative spellings
容
躰

From Old Japanese. First attested in the Nihon Shoki of 720 CE.[6]

Compound of 形 (kata, “shape, form”) +‎ ち (-chi),[4] but the derivation of the chi element is unclear.

Pronunciation

Noun

形(かたち) • (katachi) 

  1. shape or form
  2. shapeliness: see 形有り (katachiari)
  3. form, as opposed to substance

Etymology 4

Kanji in this term
形
けい
Grade: 2
kan'on

From Middle Chinese 形 (MC heng). Compare modern Mandarin 形 (xíng). The 漢音 (kan'on) reading, so likely a later borrowing.

Pronunciation

Suffix

形(けい) • (-kei) 

  1. (linguistics) grammatical tense
    過(か)去(こ)形(けい)
    kakokei
    the past tense
    将(しょう)来(らい)形(けい)
    shōraikei
    the future tense
  2. (Japanese grammar) a conjugation form of a verb
    連(れん)用(よう)形(けい)
    ren'yōkei
    the continuative form
    命(めい)令(れい)形(けい)
    meireikei
    the imperative or command form
Derived terms

Etymology 5

Kanji in this term
形
なり
Grade: 2
kun'yomi
Alternative spelling
態

From Old Japanese. First attested in the Nihon Shoki of 720 CE.[7]

From 成り (nari), the 連用形 (ren'yōkei, “continuative or stem form”) of the verb 成る (naru, “to become”).[7][3]

First attested as a suffix on a noun in the 曾我物語 (Soga Mongatari),[7] of uncertain dating but probably in the late 1300s. As a suffix on a verb stem, first attested from 1927.[7]

Pronunciation

Usage notes

  • The most common spelling for this use is なり, for all parts of speech.

Noun

形(なり) • (nari) 

  1. the shape or form of something
  2. one's clothing and appearance
  3. one's body shape or form
  4. one's circumstances or situation
  5. one's reputation
  6. (following the plain imperfective form (attributive form, 連体形 (rentaikei)) or plain perfective form of a verb) indicates the state of the affixed verb or phrase: compare English just as
    人(ひと)々(びと)の言(い)うなりになった
    hitobito no iu nari ni natta
    things turned out just as people were saying
  7. (following the plain imperfective form (attributive form, 連体形 (rentaikei)) of an adjective) indicates responding to the affixed adjective: compare English fitting
    寒(さむ)ければ寒(さむ)いなりの厚(あつ)着(ぎ)をする
    samukereba samui nari no atsugi o suru
    if it's cold, then put on warm clothing / if it's cold, then put on warm clothes for cold weather
  8. (following the plain imperfective form (attributive form, 連体形 (rentaikei)) of a verb) indicates the moment of the action occurring: compare English as soon as
    Synonym: や否や (ya ina ya)
    断(ことわ)りを聞(き)くなり泣(な)き出(だ)した
    kotowari o kiku nari nakidashita
    she burst into tears as soon as she heard the rejection
    幼(よう)稚(ち)園(えん)から帰(かえ)るなり、母(はは)に抱(だ)きついてきました。
    Yōchien kara kaeru nari, haha ni dakitsuite kimashita.
    As soon as she returned from kindergarten, she clung to her mom.
  9. (after a verb in the past tense 〜た) ... while ...
    Synonym: 儘 (mama)
    着(き)たなり脱(ぬ)ごうとしません
    kita nari nugō to shimasen
    She doesn't want to take it off while wearing it

Suffix

形(なり) • (-nari) 

  1. following the 連用形 (ren'yōkei, “continuative or stem form”) of a verb, indicates the state of the affixed verb or phrase: compare English just as
    人(ひと)々(びと)が言(い)いなりになった
    hitobito ga iinari ni natta
    things turned out just as people say
  2. following a noun, indicates a state fitting or becoming to the affixed noun
    子(こ)供(ども)なりに想(そう)像(ぞう)する
    kodomo nari ni sōzō suru
    imagine in a way fitting for a child / imagine like a child (implies that the subject is a child)
    自(じ)分(ぶん)なりの判(はん)断(だん)
    jibun nari no handan
    my own kind of decision / deciding in my own way
  3. following a noun, indicates that shape or form: compare English like
    弓(ゆみ)なりになる
    yumi nari ni naru
    to become bow-shaped / to become like a bow

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 “形・型”, in 日本国語大辞典 [Nihon Kokugo Daijiten]‎ (in Japanese), concise edition, Tokyo: Shogakukan, 2006
  2. ^ “堅い／固い／硬い／かたい”, in 語源由来辞典 (Gogen Yurai Jiten, “Etymology Derivation Dictionary”) (in Japanese), 2003–2024, mentioning the likely overlap with kata.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 Matsumura, Akira, editor (2006), 大辞林 [Daijirin] (in Japanese), Third edition, Tokyo: Sanseidō, →ISBN
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Kindaichi, Kyōsuke et al., editors (1997), 新明解国語辞典 [Shin Meikai Kokugo Jiten] (in Japanese), Fifth edition, Tokyo: Sanseidō, →ISBN
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 NHK Broadcasting Culture Research Institute, editor (1998), NHK日本語発音アクセント辞典 [NHK Japanese Pronunciation Accent Dictionary] (in Japanese), Tokyo: NHK Publishing, Inc., →ISBN
  6. ^ “形・容”, in 日本国語大辞典 [Nihon Kokugo Daijiten]‎ (in Japanese), concise edition, Tokyo: Shogakukan, 2006
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 “形・態”, in 日本国語大辞典 [Nihon Kokugo Daijiten]‎ (in Japanese), concise edition, Tokyo: Shogakukan, 2006

Korean

Etymology

From Middle Chinese 形 (MC heng).

Historical readings

Pronunciation

Hanja

Korean Wikisource has texts containing the hanja:

Wikisource

形 (eumhun 모양 형 (moyang hyeong))

  1. hanja form? of 형 (“form; shape”)

Compounds

Compounds

References

  • 국제퇴계학회 대구경북지부 (國際退溪學會 大邱慶北支部) (2007). Digital Hanja Dictionary, 전자사전／電子字典.

Vietnamese

Han character

形: Hán Nôm readings: hình, hềnh

  1. image
  2. a figure or a silhouette
  3. (Southern Vietnam) a photo; a picture
  4. (geometry) a shape
  5. Clipping of hình học (“geometry”).
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