革

See also: 堇 and ䷰

革 U+9769, 革 CJK UNIFIED IDEOGRAPH-9769 ← 靨 [U+9768] CJK Unified Ideographs 靪 → [U+976A]

⾰ U+2FB0, ⾰ KANGXI RADICAL LEATHER ← ⾯ [U+2FAF] Kangxi Radicals ⾱ → [U+2FB1]

Translingual

Stroke order

Han character

See images of
Radical 177 革

革 (Kangxi radical 177, 革+0, 9 strokes, cangjie input 廿中十 (TLJ), four-corner 4450₆, composition ⿱廿⿻中一)

1. Kangxi radical #177, ⾰.

Derived characters

• Appendix:Chinese radical/革
• 㗆, 𡟍, 𢃲, 愅, 𢯹, 㴖, 𤠇, 𨔷, 㮖, 煂, 𭹤, 䐙, 緙(缂), 𧤒, 諽, 𨍝, 𨐥, 韚, 𫠅, 𮪏, 𩩸
• 勒, 鞂, 𪟋, 𤭫, 𦑜, 𩔈(𬱭), 䳬, 䨣, 𪔨, 𩍻, 㵮, 䩻, 𦣄

References

• Kangxi Dictionary: page 1385, character 1
• Dai Kanwa Jiten: character 42710
• Dae Jaweon: page 1899, character 15
• Hanyu Da Zidian (first edition): volume 7, page 4325, character 1
• Unihan data for U+9769

Chinese

simp. and trad.		革
alternative forms		𠦶 䪂 𩎎

Glyph origin

Historical forms of the character 革
Shang	Western Zhou	Shuowen Jiezi (compiled in Han)	Liushutong (compiled in Ming)
Oracle bone script	Bronze inscriptions	Small seal script	Transcribed ancient scripts

Characters in the same phonetic series (革) (Zhengzhang, 2003) 

	Old Chinese
革	*krɯːɡ
諽	*krɯːɡ, *kʰrɯːɡ
緙	*kʰrɯːɡ
鞂	*kriːd

Pictogram (象形) – a stretched animal hide: the upper is head, the bottom is the tail and legs. The hands 臼 around the hide were briefly added later.

Compare 皮 (pí), which also features a hide.

Etymology 1

Appears to be related to 殼 (OC *kʰroːɡ, “shell, husk”); see there for more (STEDT).

Pronunciation

• Mandarin

  (Standard)

  (Pinyin): gé (ge²)

  (Zhuyin): ㄍㄜˊ

  (Chengdu, Sichuanese Pinyin): ge²

  (Dungan, Cyrillic and Wiktionary): гә (gə, I)

• Cantonese

  (Guangzhou–Hong Kong, Jyutping): gaak³ / gaap³

  (Taishan, Wiktionary): gak²

• Gan (Wiktionary): giet⁶
• Hakka

  (Sixian, PFS): kiet

  (Meixian, Guangdong): gêd⁵

• Jin (Wiktionary): gah⁴
• Northern Min (KCR): gă̤
• Eastern Min (BUC): gáik
• Puxian Min (Pouseng Ping'ing): geh⁶
• Southern Min

  (Hokkien, POJ): kek / kiak

  (Teochew, Peng'im): gêg⁴

• Wu (Shanghai, Wugniu): ⁷kaq; ⁷keq
• Xiang (Changsha, Wiktionary): ge⁶

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• Mandarin
  • (Standard Chinese)⁺
    • Hanyu Pinyin: gé
    • Zhuyin: ㄍㄜˊ
    • Tongyong Pinyin: gé
    • Wade–Giles: ko²
    • Yale: gé
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: ger
    • Palladius: гэ (gɛ)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /kɤ³⁵/
  • (Chengdu)
    • Sichuanese Pinyin: ge²
    • Scuanxua Ladinxua Xin Wenz: ge
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /kɛ²¹/
  • (Dungan)
    • Cyrillic and Wiktionary: гә (gə, I)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /kə²⁴/

    (Note: Dungan pronunciation is currently experimental and may be inaccurate.)

• Cantonese
  • (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)
    • Jyutping: gaak³ / gaap³
    • Yale: gaak / gaap
    • Cantonese Pinyin: gaak⁸ / gaap⁸
    • Guangdong Romanization: gag³ / gab³
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /kaːk̚³/, /kaːp̚³/

Note: gaap3 - variant.

• • (Taishanese, Taicheng)
    • Wiktionary: gak²
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /kak̚⁵⁵/
• Gan
  • (Nanchang)
    • Wiktionary: giet⁶
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /kiɛt̚⁵/
• Hakka
  • (Sixian, incl. Miaoli and Neipu)
    • Pha̍k-fa-sṳ: kiet
    • Hakka Romanization System: gied^ˋ
    • Hagfa Pinyim: giad⁵
    • Sinological IPA: /ki̯et̚²/
  • (Meixian)
    • Guangdong: gêd⁵
    • Sinological IPA: /kɛt̚¹/
• Jin
  • (Taiyuan)⁺
    • Wiktionary: gah⁴
    • Sinological IPA (old-style): /kaʔ²/
• Northern Min
  • (Jian'ou)
    • Kienning Colloquial Romanized: gă̤
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /kɛ²⁴/
• Eastern Min
  • (Fuzhou)
    • Bàng-uâ-cê: gáik
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /kaiʔ²⁴/
• Puxian Min
  • (Putian)
    • Pouseng Ping'ing: geh⁶
    • Báⁿ-uā-ci̍: geh
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /kɛʔ²¹/
  • (Xianyou)
    • Pouseng Ping'ing: geh⁶
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /kɛʔ²/
• Southern Min
  • (Hokkien: Xiamen, General Taiwanese, Zhangzhou)
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: kek
    • Tâi-lô: kik
    • Phofsit Daibuun: keg
    • IPA (Xiamen, Taipei, Kaohsiung, Zhangzhou): /kiɪk̚³²/
  • (Hokkien: Quanzhou, Jinjiang, Philippines)
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: kiak
    • Tâi-lô: kiak
    • Phofsit Daibuun: kiag
    • IPA (Quanzhou, Jinjiang, Philippines): /kiak̚⁵/
  • (Teochew)
    • Peng'im: gêg⁴
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī-like: kek
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /kek̚²/
• Wu
  • (Northern: Shanghai)
    • Wugniu: ⁷kaq; ⁷keq
    • MiniDict: kah^入; keh^入
    • Wiktionary Romanisation (Shanghai): ⁴kaq; ⁴keq
    • Sinological IPA (Shanghai): /kaʔ⁵⁵/, /kəʔ⁵⁵/

Note:

• 4kaq - colloquial;
• 4keq - literary.

• Xiang
  • (Changsha)
    • Wiktionary: ge⁶
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /kɤ̞²⁴/

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• Dialectal data

Variety	Location	edit 革
Mandarin	Beijing	/kɤ³⁵/
	Harbin	/kɤ²¹³/
	Tianjin	/kɤ⁴⁵/
	Jinan	/kə²¹³/
	Qingdao	/kə⁵⁵/
	Zhengzhou	/kɤ²⁴/
	Xi'an	/kei²¹/
	Xining	/kɨ⁴⁴/
	Yinchuan	/ka¹³/ /kə¹³/
	Lanzhou	/kə¹³/
	Ürümqi	/kɤ²¹³/ /kei⁴⁴/
	Wuhan	/kɤ²¹³/
	Chengdu	/ke³¹/
	Guiyang	/kɛ²¹/
	Kunming	/kə³¹/
	Nanjing	/kəʔ⁵/
	Hefei	/kɐʔ⁵/
Jin	Taiyuan	/kaʔ²/
	Pingyao	/kʌʔ¹³/
	Hohhot	/kaʔ⁴³/
Wu	Shanghai	/kəʔ⁵/
	Suzhou	/kəʔ⁵/
	Hangzhou	/kɑʔ⁵/
	Wenzhou	/ka²¹³/
Hui	Shexian	/kʰɛʔ²¹/
	Tunxi	/ka⁵/
Xiang	Changsha	/kə²⁴/
	Xiangtan	/kæ²⁴/
Gan	Nanchang	/kiɛʔ⁵/
Hakka	Meixian	/ket̚¹/
	Taoyuan	/ket̚²²/
Cantonese	Guangzhou	/kap̚³/
	Nanning	/kak̚³³/
	Hong Kong	/kak̚³/
Min	Xiamen (Hokkien)	/kik̚³²/
	Fuzhou (Eastern Min)	/kaiʔ²³/
	Jian'ou (Northern Min)	/kɛ²⁴/
	Shantou (Teochew)	/kek̚²/
	Haikou (Hainanese)	/kek̚⁵/ /kɔk̚⁵/

---

• Middle Chinese: keak

Rime
Character	革
Reading #	1/1
Initial (聲)	見 (28)
Final (韻)	麥 (119)
Tone (調)	Checked (Ø)
Openness (開合)	Open
Division (等)	II
Fanqie	古核切
Baxter	keak
Reconstructions
Zhengzhang Shangfang	/kˠɛk̚/
Pan Wuyun	/kᵚæk̚/
Shao Rongfen	/kɐk̚/
Edwin Pulleyblank	/kəɨjk̚/
Li Rong	/kɛk̚/
Wang Li	/kæk̚/
Bernhard Karlgren	/kæk̚/
Expected Mandarin Reflex	ge
Expected Cantonese Reflex	gak1

• Old Chinese

  (Baxter–Sagart): /*kˤrək/

  (Zhengzhang): /*krɯːɡ/

Baxter–Sagart system 1.1 (2014)
Character	革	革
Reading #	1/2	2/2
Modern Beijing (Pinyin)	gé	gé
Middle Chinese	‹ kɛk ›	‹ kɛk ›
Old Chinese	/*kˁrək/	/*kˁrək/
English	hide, skin	change (v.)
Notes for Old Chinese notations in the Baxter–Sagart system: * Parentheses "()" indicate uncertain presence; * Square brackets "[]" indicate uncertain identity, e.g. *[t] 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	革
Reading #	1/1
No.	3835
Phonetic component	革
Rime group	職
Rime subdivision	0
Corresponding MC rime	隔
Old Chinese	/*krɯːɡ/

Definitions

革

1. leather; animal hide
2. (historical) leather armour and weaponry
3. (historical) ornament on the front of the cart
4. (obsolete on its own in Standard Chinese) alternative form of 勒 (“headstall”)
5. to change; to alter; to reform
6. to remove; to expel

   革職／革职  ―  gézhí  ―  to dismiss; to remove from office

   革扯 [Cantonese]  ―  gaak³ ce² [Jyutping]  ―  to fire; to dismiss; to remove from office

   伊偷提廠內的物件，予廠的共伊革出去。 [Hokkien, trad.]
   伊偷提厂内的物件，予厂的共伊革出去。 [Hokkien, simp.]

   I thau-the̍h chhiúⁿ lāi ê mi̍h-kiāⁿ, hō͘ chhiúⁿ ê kā i kek chhut-khì. [Pe̍h-ōe-jī]

   He stole things inside the factory, making the factory fire him.

   • 乃命爾先祖成湯革夏，俊民甸四方。 [Traditional Chinese poetry, trad.]
     乃命尔先祖成汤革夏，俊民甸四方。 [Traditional Chinese poetry, simp.]

     From: The Book of Documents, circa 7^th – 4^th centuries BCE

     Nǎi mìng ěr xiānzǔ chéng Tāng gé Xià, jùn mín diàn sìfāng. [Pinyin]

     [Heaven] then directed your first ancestor, Tang the Accomplished, to overturn Xia, [Tang then employed] outstanding men to govern the four quarters of the empire.

   • 惟爾知，惟殷先人有冊有典，殷革夏命。 [Traditional Chinese poetry, trad.]
     惟尔知，惟殷先人有册有典，殷革夏命。 [Traditional Chinese poetry, simp.]

     From: The Book of Documents, circa 7^th – 4^th centuries BCE

     Wéi ěr zhī, wéi Yīn xiānrén yǒu cè yǒu diǎn, Yīn gé Xià mìng. [Pinyin]

     You are aware that Yin’s former rulers possessed records and statutes, and that the Yin dynasty overturned Xia’s mandate [to rule].

7. 49th hexagram of the I Ching
8. a surname

Compounds

• 七月革命
• 二月革命 (Èryuè Gémìng)
• 二次革命 (Èrcì Gémìng)
• 兵革 (bīnggé)
• 兵革之禍 / 兵革之祸
• 剗革 / 刬革
• 十月革命 (Shíyuè Gémìng)
• 參革 / 参革
• 反革命 (fǎngémìng)
• 和平改革
• 因革
• 國民革命 / 国民革命
• 土地改革 (tǔdì gǎigé)
• 大化革新
• 大馬士革 / 大马士革 (Dàmǎshìgé)
• 宗教改革 (Zōngjiào Gǎigé)
• 工業革命 / 工业革命 (Gōngyè Gémìng)
• 悛革
• 改面革心
• 改革 (gǎigé)
• 政治革新
• 文學革命 / 文学革命 (wénxué gémìng)
• 文革 (Wéngé)
• 斥革 (chìgé)
• 暴力革命
• 民主改革 (mínzhǔ gǎigé)
• 沿革 (yángé)
• 沿革解釋 / 沿革解释
• 洗削更革
• 洗心革志
• 洗心革意
• 洗心革面 (xǐxīngémiàn)
• 洗面革心
• 湯武革命 / 汤武革命
• 漢字改革 / 汉字改革
• 犀革 (xīgé)
• 產業革命 / 产业革命 (Chǎnyè Gémìng)
• 登革熱 / 登革热 (dēnggérè)
• 皮革 (pígé)
• 磨揉遷革 / 磨揉迁革
• 社會改革 / 社会改革 (shèhuì gǎigé)
• 社會革命 / 社会革命
• 經濟改革 / 经济改革
• 綠色革命 / 绿色革命
• 老革
• 肌革
• 膚革 / 肤革
• 興革 / 兴革
• 裁革
• 裹屍馬革 / 裹尸马革
• 裹革
• 褫革
• 變革 / 变革 (biàngé)
• 貫革 / 贯革
• 資訊革命 / 资讯革命
• 軌革 / 轨革
• 辛亥革命 (Xīnhài Gémìng)
• 農地改革 / 农地改革
• 農業改革 / 农业改革
• 釐革
• 金革
• 開革 / 开革
• 革凡成聖 / 革凡成圣
• 革凡登聖 / 革凡登圣
• 革出
• 革勒車 / 革勒车 (Gélèchē)
• 革名
• 革命 (gémìng)
• 革命之母
• 革命先烈
• 革命家 (gémìngjiā)
• 革命戰爭 / 革命战争
• 革命民權 / 革命民权
• 革命法庭
• 革命軍 / 革命军 (gémìngjūn)
• 革囊
• 革容
• 革履 (gélǚ)
• 革帶移孔 / 革带移孔
• 革弊
• 革役
• 革心
• 革故鼎新 (gégùdǐngxīn)
• 革新 (géxīn)
• 革易
• 革爭 / 革争
• 革留
• 革職 / 革职 (gézhí)
• 革職查辦 / 革职查办
• 革職留任 / 革职留任
• 革胡 (géhú)
• 革舄
• 革舊 / 革旧
• 革舊鼎新 / 革旧鼎新
• 革車 / 革车
• 革退
• 革除 (géchú)
• 革面
• 革面洗心 (gémiànxǐxīn)
• 鞗革
• 馬革裹屍 / 马革裹尸 (mǎgéguǒshī)
• 鳥革翬飛 / 鸟革翚飞
• 鼎新革故
• 鼎革 (dǐnggé)

Etymology 2

Pronunciation

• Mandarin

  (Pinyin): jí (ji²)

  (Zhuyin): ㄐㄧˊ

• Cantonese (Jyutping): gik¹

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• Mandarin
  • (Standard Chinese)⁺
    • Hanyu Pinyin: jí
    • Zhuyin: ㄐㄧˊ
    • Tongyong Pinyin: jí
    • Wade–Giles: chi²
    • Yale: jí
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: jyi
    • Palladius: цзи (czi)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /t͡ɕi³⁵/
• Cantonese
  • (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)
    • Jyutping: gik¹
    • Yale: gīk
    • Cantonese Pinyin: gik⁷
    • Guangdong Romanization: gig¹
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /kɪk̚⁵/

Definitions

革

1. (obsolete on its own in Standard Chinese) alternative form of 亟 (“terminally ill; critical”)

Compounds

• 病革

References

• “革”, in 漢語多功能字庫 (Multi-function Chinese Character Database)‎, 香港中文大學 (the Chinese University of Hong Kong), 2014–
• 李如龙 [Li, Ru-long]; 刘福铸 [Liu, Fu-zhu]; 吴华英 [Wu, Hua-ying]; 黄国城 [Huang, Guo-cheng] (2019), “革”, in 莆仙方言调查报告 [Investigation Report on Puxian Dialect] (overall work in Mandarin and Puxian Min), Xiamen University Press, →ISBN, page 267.