改

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改 U+6539, 改
CJK UNIFIED IDEOGRAPH-6539
← 攸
 		CJK Unified Ideographs 攺 →

Translingual

Stroke order
7 strokes

Han character

改 (Kangxi radical 66, 攴+3, 7 strokes, cangjie input 尸山人大 (SUOK), four-corner 18740, composition ⿰己攵)

Derived characters

References

  • Kangxi Dictionary: page 468, character 11
  • Dai Kanwa Jiten: character 13114
  • Dae Jaweon: page 816, character 4
  • Hanyu Da Zidian (first edition): volume 2, page 1450, character 1
  • Unihan data for U+6539

Chinese

Glyph origin

Historical forms of the character 改
Shuowen Jiezi (compiled in Han) Liushutong (compiled in Ming)
Small seal script Transcribed ancient scripts
Characters in the same phonetic series (己) (Zhengzhang, 2003) 
Old Chinese
改 *klɯːʔ
跽 *ɡrɯʔ
己 *kɯʔ
紀 *kɯʔ
妀 *kɯʔ
記 *kɯs
杞 *kʰɯʔ
屺 *kʰɯʔ
芑 *kʰɯʔ
邔 *kʰɯʔ, *ɡɯs
玘 *kʰɯʔ
忌 *ɡɯs
鵋 *ɡɯs
誋 *ɡɯs
梞 *ɡɯs
改 (gǎi) (in the form of 攺) from a Western-Han manuscript of the Yili in the clerical script.

In the oracle bone script, a phono-semantic compound (形聲 / 形声, OC *klɯːʔ) : phonetic 巳 (OC *ljɯʔ, *lɯs) + semantic 攴.

The interpretation linked to a child beaten or threathened by a stick in hand to indicate "correct, amend" referred to educating a child is probably folk etymology.

Since the small seal script, the phonetic component has been changed to 己 (OC *kɯʔ).

Etymology 1

simp. and trad.
 改
alternative forms 攺

Related to 革 (OC *krɯːɡ, “to change”), 更 (OC *kraːŋ, “to change”) (Wang, 1982).

Pronunciation

Note:
  • guōi - vernacular;
  • gāi - literary.
Note:
  • gai3 - literary;
  • goe3 - vernacular.
Note:
  • Xiamen, Quanzhou, Jinjiang, Zhangzhou:
    • kái - literary ("to change");
    • kóe/ké - vernacular ("to correct", "to abstain").
Note:
  • gai2 - literary;
  • goi2 - vernacular.
Rime
Character 改
Reading # 1/1
Initial (聲) 見 (28)
Final (韻) 咍 (41)
Tone (調) Rising (X)
Openness (開合) Open
Division (等) I
Fanqie 古亥切
Baxter kojX
Reconstructions
Zhengzhang
Shangfang 		/kʌiX/
Pan
Wuyun 		/kəiX/
Shao
Rongfen 		/kɒiX/
Edwin
Pulleyblank 		/kəjX/
Li
Rong 		/kᴀiX/
Wang
Li 		/kɒiX/
Bernhard
Karlgren 		/kɑ̆iX/
Expected
Mandarin
Reflex 		gǎi
Expected
Cantonese
Reflex 		goi2
Baxter–Sagart system 1.1 (2014)
Character 改
Reading # 1/1
Modern
Beijing
(Pinyin) 		gǎi
Middle
Chinese 		‹ kojX ›
Old
Chinese 		/*C.qˁəʔ/
English change (v.)

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 改
Reading # 1/1
No. 5763
Phonetic
component 		己
Rime
group 		之
Rime
subdivision 		0
Corresponding
MC rime 		改
Old
Chinese 		/*klɯːʔ/

Definitions

改

  1. to change; to transform; to alter; to modify
  2. to correct; to improve
  3. to mark; to correct; to grade (homework, an assignment, a test, etc.)
  4. (Hokkien) to give up; to quit; to abstain from (a bad habit)
  5. a surname
Synonyms
Dialectal synonyms of 戒 (“to give up; to quit”)
Variety Location Words
Formal (Written Standard Chinese) 戒
Northeastern Mandarin Taiwan 戒
Central Plains Mandarin Xi'an 戒
Southwestern Mandarin Guilin 戒
Jianghuai Mandarin Yangzhou 戒
Cantonese Guangzhou 戒
Hong Kong 戒
Gan Nanchang 戒
Hakka Meixian 戒
Miaoli (N. Sixian) 戒
Pingtung (Neipu; S. Sixian) 戒
Hsinchu County (Zhudong; Hailu) 戒
Taichung (Dongshi; Dabu) 戒
Hsinchu County (Qionglin; Raoping) 戒
Yunlin (Lunbei; Zhao'an) 改
Huizhou Jixi 戒
Southern Min Xiamen 改
Quanzhou 改
Zhangzhou 改
Tainan 改

Compounds

Etymology 2

simp. and trad.
 改
alternative forms 介
屆／届

Probably from Japanese 回(かい) (kai).

Pronunciation

Definitions

改

  1. (Taiwanese Hokkien) Classifier for times, as in frequency.

Japanese

Kanji

改

(Fourth grade kyōiku kanji)

  1. reform
  2. correct
  3. change

Readings

Compounds

Etymology

Kanji in this term
改
かい
Grade: 4
on'yomi

From Middle Chinese 改 (MC kojX).

Pronunciation

Affix

改(かい) • (kai) 

  1. change; modify; reform

Suffix

改(かい) • (-kai) 

  1. revision
  2. revised, modified
    チヌ改(かい)
    chi-nu-kai
    Chi-Nu Kai
    装輪装甲車(そうりんそうこうしゃ)（改(かい)）
    sōrin-sōkō-sha (kai)
    Wheeled Armoured Vehicle (Improved)

Korean

Hanja

改 (eumhun 고칠 개 (gochil gae))

  1. hanja form? of 개 (“reform; fix”)

Compounds

Vietnamese

Han character

改: Hán Nôm readings: cải, cãi, gởi, gửi

  1. This term needs a translation to English. Please help out and add a translation, then remove the text {{rfdef}}.
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