介

See also: 个 and 𠆤

介	U+4ECB, 介 CJK UNIFIED IDEOGRAPH-4ECB

← 今
[U+4ECA]

CJK Unified Ideographs

仌 →
[U+4ECC]

Translingual[edit]

Stroke order

Stroke order

Han character[edit]

介 (Kangxi radical 9, 人+2, 4 strokes, cangjie input 人中中 (OLL), four-corner 8022₀, composition ⿱人⿰丿丨)

Derived characters[edit]

价, 吤, 圿, 妎, 㜾, 尬, 𡵚, 㠹, 忦, 扴, 𣲤, 阶, 斺, 𭨫, 𬂣, 𣬫, 炌, 𤘦, 𭷼, 玠, 𭺝, 祄, 畍, 𥄍, 砎, 𥝵, 紒, 蚧, 衸, 𧣋, 䚸, 𧿩, 𫒌, 𩈋, 𩉡, 𩡺(𩧦), 骱, 魀, 魪(𬶇), 𭍲, 𩾴, 𪐱, 齘(𬹼)
𠇧, 㰡, 𬿋, 𬿷, 䲸(𮭡), 𭀐, 𠨴, 㝏, 岕, 芥, 界, 𪽐, 㖎/㖋, 𣓴, 䯰, 𢗊, 𠌕, 庎, 疥, 䦏, 𣽀
𰁽

Descendants[edit]

ケ (Katakana character derived from Man'yōgana)

References[edit]

Kangxi Dictionary: page 91, character 19
Dai Kanwa Jiten: character 359
Dae Jaweon: page 194, character 4
Hanyu Da Zidian (first edition): volume 1, page 103, character 9
Unihan data for U+4ECB

Chinese[edit]

Glyph origin[edit]

Historical forms of the character 介

Shang

Western Zhou

Warring States

Shuowen Jiezi (compiled in Han)

Liushutong (compiled in Ming)

Oracle bone script

Bronze inscriptions

Chu slip and silk script

Qin slip script

Small seal script

Transcribed ancient scripts

**Oracle bone script**
j01444	j01445	j01446	j01447	j01448	j01449

**Small seal script**
s00795

**Transcribed ancient scripts**
L36198	L36199	L21168	L21169	L21170	L21171	L21172	L21173

References:

Mostly from Richard Sears' Chinese Etymology site (authorisation),
which in turn draws data from various collections of ancient forms of Chinese characters, including:

Shuowen Jiezi (small seal),
Jinwen Bian (bronze inscriptions),
Liushutong (Liushutong characters) and
Yinxu Jiaguwen Bian (oracle bone script).

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

	Old Chinese
妎	ɡaːds, ɡeːds
芥	*kreːds
尬	*kreːds
界	*kreːds
介	*kreːds
疥	*kreːds
玠	*kreːds
砎	kreːds, kreːd, *ɡraːd
魪	*kreːds
价	*kreːds
衸	kreːds, ɡreːds
齘	*ɡreːds
骱	ɡaːd, kreːd
扴	*kreːd
圿	*kreːd
忦	*kreːd

Ideogrammic compound (會意／会意) : 人 (“person”) + two marks encompassing, indicating "in between"

Etymology 1[edit]

simp. and trad.		介

"to assist": Developed from 介 (OC *kreːds, “armored men”), from 介 (OC *kreːds, “armor”), ultimately from 介 (OC *kreːds, “scale (of animals)”). (Schuessler, 2007)

Pronunciation[edit]

Mandarin
(Standard)
(Pinyin): jiè (jie⁴)

(Zhuyin): ㄐㄧㄝˋ

(Chengdu, Sichuanese Pinyin): jiai⁴
Cantonese
(Guangzhou–Hong Kong, Jyutping): gaai³

(Taishan, Wiktionary): gai¹
Hakka (Sixian, PFS): kie / kiai
Northern Min (KCR): ga̿i
Eastern Min (BUC): gái
Southern Min
(Hokkien, POJ): kài

(Teochew, Peng'im): gai³
Wu (Wugniu)
- (Northern): ⁵ka; ⁵cia

Mandarin
- (Standard Chinese)⁺
  - Hanyu Pinyin: jiè
  - Zhuyin: ㄐㄧㄝˋ
  - Tongyong Pinyin: jiè
  - Wade–Giles: chieh⁴
  - Yale: jyè
  - Gwoyeu Romatzyh: jieh
  - Palladius: цзе (cze)
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /t͡ɕi̯ɛ⁵¹/
- (Chengdu)
  - Sichuanese Pinyin: jiai⁴
  - Scuanxua Ladinxua Xin Wenz: giai
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /t͡ɕiɛi²¹³/
Cantonese
- (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)⁺
  - Jyutping: gaai³
  - Yale: gaai
  - Cantonese Pinyin: gaai³
  - Guangdong Romanization: gai³
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /kaːi̯³³/
- (Taishanese, Taicheng)
  - Wiktionary: gai¹
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /kai³³/
Hakka
- (Northern Sixian, incl. Miaoli)
  - Pha̍k-fa-sṳ: kie
  - Hakka Romanization System: gie
  - Hagfa Pinyim: gie⁴
  - Sinological IPA: /ki̯e⁵⁵/
- (Southern Sixian, incl. Meinong)
  - Pha̍k-fa-sṳ: kiai
  - Hakka Romanization System: giai
  - Hagfa Pinyim: giai⁴
  - Sinological IPA: /ki̯ai̯⁵⁵/
Northern Min
- (Jian'ou)
  - Kienning Colloquial Romanized: ga̿i
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /kai³³/
Eastern Min
- (Fuzhou)
  - Bàng-uâ-cê: gái
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /kɑi²¹³/
Southern Min
- (Hokkien)
  - Pe̍h-ōe-jī: kài
  - Tâi-lô: kài
  - Phofsit Daibuun: kaix
  - IPA (Xiamen): /kai²¹/
  - IPA (Quanzhou): /kai⁴¹/
  - IPA (Zhangzhou): /kai²¹/
  - IPA (Taipei): /kai¹¹/
  - IPA (Kaohsiung): /kai²¹/
- (Teochew)
  - Peng'im: gai³
  - Pe̍h-ōe-jī-like: kài
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /kai²¹³/
Wu
- (Shanghai, Suzhou)
  - Wugniu: ⁵ka; ⁵cia
  - MiniDict: ka^去; cia^去
  - Wiktionary Romanisation (Shanghai): ²ka; ²jia
  - Sinological IPA (Shanghai): /ka³⁴/, /t͡ɕia³⁴/
  - Sinological IPA (Suzhou): /kɑ⁵²³/, /t͡ɕiɑ⁵²³/

Note:

⁵ka, ¹ka - colloquial;
⁵cia - literary.

Dialectal data

Variety	Location	edit 介
Mandarin	Beijing	/t͡ɕiɛ⁵¹/
	Harbin	/t͡ɕiɛ⁵³/
	Tianjin	/t͡ɕie⁵³/
	Jinan	/t͡ɕiɛ²¹/
	Qingdao	/t͡ɕiɛ⁴²/
	Zhengzhou	/t͡ɕiɛ³¹²/
	Xi'an	/t͡ɕiɛ⁴⁴/
	Xining	/t͡ɕi²¹³/
	Yinchuan	/t͡ɕie¹³/
	Lanzhou	/t͡ɕiə¹³/ /kɛ¹³/
	Ürümqi	/t͡ɕiɤ²¹³/
	Wuhan	/kai³⁵/
	Chengdu	/kai¹³/ /t͡ɕiai¹³/
	Guiyang	/kai²¹³/ /t͡ɕie²¹³/
	Kunming	/kæ²¹²/
	Nanjing	/t͡ɕiɛ⁴⁴/
	Hefei	/t͡ɕie̞⁵³/
Jin	Taiyuan	/t͡ɕie⁴⁵/
	Pingyao	/t͡ɕie̞³⁵/
	Hohhot	/t͡ɕie⁵⁵/
Wu	Shanghai	/ka³⁵/ /t͡ɕia³⁵/
	Suzhou	/t͡ɕiɑ⁵¹³/
	Hangzhou	/t͡ɕie̞⁴⁴⁵/
	Wenzhou	/ka⁴²/
Hui	Shexian	/t͡ɕia³²⁴/ /ka³²⁴/
Hui	Tunxi	/ka⁴²/
Xiang	Changsha	/kai⁵⁵/
Xiang	Xiangtan	/kai⁵⁵/
Gan	Nanchang	/kai⁴⁵/
Hakka	Meixian	/kiai⁵³/
Hakka	Taoyuan	/ke⁵⁵/
Cantonese	Guangzhou	/kai³³/
	Nanning	/kai³³/
	Hong Kong	/kai³³/
Min	Xiamen (Hokkien)	/kai²¹/
	Fuzhou (Eastern Min)	/kɑi²¹²/
	Jian'ou (Northern Min)	/kai³³/
	Shantou (Teochew)	/kai²¹³/
	Haikou (Hainanese)	/kai³⁵/

Middle Chinese: keajH

Rime
Character	介
Reading #	1/1
Initial (聲)	見 (28)
Final (韻)	皆 (33)
Tone (調)	Departing (H)
Openness (開合)	Open
Division (等)	II
Fanqie	古拜切
Baxter	keajH
Reconstructions
Zhengzhang Shangfang	/kˠɛi^H/
Pan Wuyun	/kᵚæi^H/
Shao Rongfen	/kɐi^H/
Edwin Pulleyblank	/kəɨj^H/
Li Rong	/kɛi^H/
Wang Li	/kɐi^H/
Bernard Karlgren	/kăi^H/
Expected Mandarin Reflex	jiè
Expected Cantonese Reflex	gaai³

Old Chinese
(Baxter–Sagart): /*kˤr[e]p-s/

(Zhengzhang): /*kreːds/

Baxter–Sagart system 1.1 (2014)
Character	介
Reading #	1/1
Modern Beijing (Pinyin)	jiè
Middle Chinese	‹ kɛj^H ›
Old Chinese	/*kˁr[e]p-s/
English	armour; scale of animals
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	介
Reading #	1/1
No.	6525
Phonetic component	介
Rime group	祭
Rime subdivision	2
Corresponding MC rime	誡
Old Chinese	/*kreːds/

Definitions[edit]

介

to lie between
to relate two things; to connect; to link; to introduce
to assist; to help
to hang; to suspend
to rely on; to depend on
firm; persistent; unswerving
such; like this; this kind of
Original form of 界 (jiè, “boundary; role; duty”).
iota; tiny bit. Alternative form of 芥
Classifier for people or copper coins.
seashell; shell
to wear armour
(Eastern Min) again; re-
(Taiwan) zepto- (SI unit prefix)
Synonym: 仄 (Mainland)

Compounds[edit]

Descendants[edit]

→ Proto-Tai: *klecꟲ
- Proto-Southwestern Tai: *kletᴰ
  - Thai: เกล็ด (glèt)

Synonyms[edit]

Dialectal synonyms of 再 (“again”) [map]

Variety	Location	Words edit
Formal (Written Standard Chinese)		再
Mandarin	Beijing	再
	Taiwan	再
	Jinan	再
	Xi'an	再
	Wuhan	再
	Chengdu	又, 再
	Yangzhou	再
	Hefei	再
Cantonese	Guangzhou	再, 添 >
	Hong Kong	再, 添 >
	Yangjiang	應
Gan	Nanchang	再, 湊 >
Hakka	Meixian	再, 添 >
Jin	Taiyuan	再
Northern Min	Jian'ou	再, 唵
Eastern Min	Fuzhou	再, 蓋, 介
Eastern Min	Fuqing	介
Southern Min	Xiamen	閣, 閣再
	Quanzhou	閣, 閣再
	Zhangzhou	閣, 閣再
	Tainan	閣, 閣再
	Singapore (Hokkien)	閣, 閣再
	Manila (Hokkien)	閣, 閣再, 過再, 閣過再
	Chaozhou	再
Wu	Shanghai	又, 再
	Suzhou	再
	Wenzhou	再, 添 >
Xiang	Changsha	再
Xiang	Shuangfeng	再, 還
Note	> - used after the object

References[edit]

“介”, in 漢語多功能字庫 (Multi-function Chinese Character Database)‎^[1], 香港中文大學 (the Chinese University of Hong Kong), 2014–

Etymology 2[edit]

simp. and trad.		介
alternative forms		價／价

From 個／个, attested since the Song Dynasty.

Pronunciation[edit]

Wu (Wugniu)
- (Northern): ¹ka / ⁵ka

Wu
- (Shanghai)
  - Wugniu: ¹ka
  - MiniDict: ka^平
  - Wiktionary Romanisation (Shanghai): ¹ka
  - Sinological IPA (Shanghai): /ka⁵³/
- (Hangzhou, Ningbo)
  - Wugniu: ⁵ka
  - MiniDict: ka^去
  - Sinological IPA (Hangzhou): /kɑ⁴⁵/
  - Sinological IPA (Ningbo): /ka⁵⁵/

Definitions[edit]

介 (Wu)

used to indicate a great degree
介大 [Ningbonese] ― ⁵ka ⁶du [Wugniu] ― so big
an adverbialiser; in the manner of
搿能介 [Shanghainese] ― ⁸geq-nen-ka [Wugniu] ― in this way

像伊一能介 [Shanghainese] ― ⁶zhian ⁶yi ⁷iq-nen-ka [Wugniu] ― in the manner of him

Synonyms[edit]

Dialectal synonyms of 這麼 (“so; such (modifies adj.)”) [map]

Variety	Location	Words edit
Classical Chinese		如此
Formal (Written Standard Chinese)		如此
Mandarin	Beijing	這麼
	Taiwan	這麼
	Harbin	這麼
	Yantai (Muping)	這麼
	Jinan	這麼
	Luoyang	陣
	Wanrong	這麼
	Xi'an	這們, 陣
	Yinchuan	這麼
	Lanzhou	這們
	Xining	這們
	Ürümqi	這麼
	Wuhan	這麼, 這樣, 這個樣子
	Chengdu	這們, 這麼, 嘞們
	Guiyang	仲個
	Guilin	這樣
	Liuzhou	陣, 哏
	Xuzhou	恁麼
	Yangzhou	這們
	Nanjing	這麼, 這樣子
	Nantong	格麼
	Malaysia	這樣
	Singapore	這樣, 這麼
Cantonese	Guangzhou	咁
	Hong Kong	咁
	Foshan	咁
	Taishan	該
	Dongguan	呢咁, 咁
	Yunfu	咁
	Yangjiang	果樣, 拱
	Xinyi	咁
	Nanning	咁
	Wuzhou	咁
	Yulin	咁
	Hepu (Lianzhou)	果
	Kuala Lumpur (Guangfu)	咁
	Penang (Guangfu)	咁
	Singapore (Guangfu)	咁
Gan	Nanchang	箇
	Lichuan	該樣
	Pingxiang	箇, 箇史
Hakka	Meixian	恁
	Xingning	恁, 咁
	Huidong (Daling)	恁, 咁
	Shaoguan (Qujiang)	咁
	Lianshan (Xiaosanjiang)	咁
	Changting	仰
	Wuping	恁
	Wuping (Pingyu)	恁
	Liancheng	樣
	Miaoli (N. Sixian)	恁
	Pingtung (Neipu; S. Sixian)	恁
	Hsinchu County (Zhudong; Hailu)	恁
	Taichung (Dongshi; Dabu)	恁
	Hsinchu County (Qionglin; Raoping)	恁
	Yunlin (Lunbei; Zhao'an)	恁
	Luchuan (Daqiao)	咁
	Senai (Huiyang)	恁
	Kuching (Hepo)	恁
Huizhou	Jixi	爾的
Jin	Taiyuan	這來
Jin	Xinzhou	這啦, 這麼, 這來
Northern Min	Jian'ou	𱕇
Eastern Min	Fuzhou	只滿, 只
	Fuqing	者滿
	Singapore (Fuqing)	者滿
Southern Min	Xiamen	遮, 遮爾, 遮爾仔
	Quanzhou	拙, 拙幹
	Zhangzhou	遮爾, 遮爾仔
	Tainan	遮, 遮爾, 遮爾仔
	Singapore (Hokkien)	按呢
	Chaozhou	照, 照生
	Johor Bahru (Teochew)	照
	Singapore (Teochew)	只生
	Leizhou	偌
	Haikou	只, 者
Southern Pinghua	Nanning (Tingzi)	更
Wu	Shanghai	搿能, 搿能介, 搿個能, 介, 實能 dated, 實個能 dated
	Shanghai (Chongming)	能
	Suzhou	該實梗, 該尚, 哀實梗, 哀尚, 實梗, 尚
	Danyang	根
	Hangzhou	價套, 價, 實價套, 實價
	Ningbo	介
	Wenzhou	該恁, 恁
	Jinhua	帳, 格生, 格亨, 喪
	Jinhua (Tangxi)	絞麼
Xiang	Changsha	咯樣
Xiang	Quanzhou	這麼

Etymology 3[edit]

simp. and trad.		介

Pronunciation[edit]

Cantonese (Jyutping): gai¹

Cantonese
- (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)⁺
  - Jyutping: gai¹
  - Yale: gāi
  - Cantonese Pinyin: gai¹
  - Guangdong Romanization: gei¹
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /kɐi̯⁵⁵/

Definitions[edit]

介

(Hong Kong) Informal shorthand for 雞／鸡 (gai1).

Etymology 4[edit]

simp. and trad.		介

Pronunciation[edit]

Hakka (Sixian, PFS): ke

Hakka
- (Sixian, incl. Miaoli and Meinong)
  - Pha̍k-fa-sṳ: ke
  - Hakka Romanization System: ge
  - Hagfa Pinyim: ge⁴
  - Sinological IPA: /ke⁵⁵/

Definitions[edit]

介

(Hakka) Alternative form of 個／个 (“(particle; classifier)”)
- 該紅紅白白介花 [Sixian Hakka, trad.]
  该红红白白介花 [Sixian Hakka, simp.]
  From: 2003, 謝宇威 [Hsieh Yu-Wei], 花樹下 [Under the Flowers]
  kai fùng-fùng pha̍k-pha̍k ke fâ [Pha̍k-fa-sṳ]
  The red and white flowers

Japanese[edit]

Kanji[edit]

介

(common “Jōyō” kanji)

Readings[edit]

Go-on: け (ke)
Kan-on: かい (kai, Jōyō)
Kun: たすける (tasukeru, 介ける); すけ (suke, 介)
Nanori: あき (aki)

Compounds[edit]

Compounds

介意
介懐
介居
介(かい)護(ご) (kaigo)
介在
介子
介(かい)錯(しゃく) (kaishaku)
介(かい)助(じょ) (kaijo)
介心
介(かい)入(にゅう) (kainyū)
介馬
介(かい)抱(ほう) (kaihō)
介殻
介(かい)甲(こう) (kaikō)
介(すけ)党(とう)鱈(だら) (suketōdara): Alaska pollock
介(かい)病(びょう) (kaibyō): nursing a patient
介卵
介鱗

Related terms[edit]

Etymology[edit]

Kanji in this term
介
かい Grade: S
kan’on

From Middle Chinese 介 (MC keajH).

Pronunciation[edit]

IPA^(key): [ka̠i]

Affix[edit]

介(かい) • (kai)

Korean[edit]

Hanja[edit]

介 (eum 개 (gae))

forerunner, herald, harbinger
to lie between
sea shell
to wear armor