形

Translingual

Stroke order
形-bw.png

Etymology

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

Han character

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

  1. form, shape, appearance

Synonyms

References

  • KangXi: page 363, character 6
  • Dai Kanwa Jiten: character 9969
  • Dae Jaweon: page 681, character 25
  • Hanyu Da Zidian: volume 2, page 852, character 10
  • Unihan data for U+5F62
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Cantonese

Hanzi

形 (Yale ying4)

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Japanese

Kanji

形 (grade 2 “Kyōiku” kanji)

Readings

Compounds

Compounds

Etymology 1

Probably related to 堅い / 硬い / 固い (katai), hard.

Pronunciation

Alternative forms

Noun

形 (hiragana かた, romaji kata)

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

Etymology 2

Derived from kata above. Changes to gata due to rendaku (連濁). Only found in compounds.

Pronunciation

Alternative forms

Suffix

形 (hiragana がた, romaji gata)

  1. (affixed to nouns): the shape or form of the affixed noun
    渦巻き形
    うずまきがた
    uzumakigata
    a whirlpool shape
    卵形
    たまごがた
    tamagogata
    an egg shape
  2. (affixed to on'yomi nouns): a typical example of the affixed noun; the type of the affixed noun
    学者形
    がくしゃがた
    gakushagata
    a scholar type
    英雄形
    えいゆうがた
    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

Derived from 形木 (katagi), itself a compound of 形 (kata, “shape”) +‎ 木 (ki, “tree, wood”), meaning stencil. The ki changes to gi due to rendaku (連濁).

Pronunciation

Alternative forms

  • 気質
  • 容気

Noun

形 (hiragana かたぎ, romaji katagi)

  1. social customs, mores
  2. one's appearance; one's stance or body language
  3. one's character, disposition, nature

Suffix

形 (hiragana かたぎ, romaji katagi)

  1. the character, disposition, or nature of the affixed noun

Etymology 4

Origins unknown. Appears to be /kata/ + /chi/, but the derivation of the /chi/ element is unclear.

Pronunciation

Alternative forms

Noun

形 (hiragana かたち, romaji katachi)

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

Etymology 5

From Sinitic 形.

Pronunciation

Suffix

形 (hiragana けい, romaji -kei)

  1. (linguistics) grammatical tense
    過去形
    かこけい
    kakokei
    the past tense
    将来形
    しょうらいけい
    shōraikei
    the future tense
  2. (Japanese grammar) a conjugation form of a verb
    連用形
    れんようけい
    ren'yōkei
    the continuative form
    命令形
    めいれいけい
    meireikei
    the imperative or command form

Etymology 6

From 成り (nari), the continuative form (連用形 (ren'yōkei)) of the verb 成る (naru, “to become”).

Pronunciation

Alternative forms

Usage notes

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

Noun

形 (hiragana なり, romaji nari)

  1. one's clothing and appearance
  2. one's body shape or form
  3. one's circumstances or situation
  4. one's reputation
  5. following the plain imperfective form (attributive form, 連対形 (rentaikei)) or plain perfective form of a verb, indicates the state of the affixed verb or phrase: compare English just as
    人々の言うなりになった
    ひとびとのいうなりになった
    hitobito no iu nari ni natta
    things turned out just as people were saying
  6. following the plain imperfective form (attributive form, 連対形 (rentaikei)) of an adjective, indicates responding to the affixed adjective: compare English fitting
    寒ければ寒いなりの厚着をする
    さむければさむいなりのあつぎをする
    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
  7. following the plain imperfective form (attributive form, 連対形 (rentaikei)) of a verb, indicates the moment of the action occurring: compare English as soon as
    断りを聞くなり泣き出した
    ことわりをきくなりなきだした
    kotowari o kiku nari nakidashita
    she burst into tears as soon as she heard the rejection
  8. following a noun, indicates a state fitting or becoming to the affixed noun
    子供なりに想像する
    こどもなりにそうぞうする
    kodomo nari ni sōzō suru
    imagine in a way fitting for a child / imagine like a child (implies that the subject is a child)
    自分なりの判断
    じぶんなりのはんだん
    jibun nari no handan
    my own kind of decision / deciding in my own way
  9. following a noun, indicates that shape or form: compare English like
    弓なりになる
    ゆみなりになる
    yumi nari ni naru
    to become bow-shaped / to become like a bow

Suffix

形 (hiragana なり, romaji nari)

  1. following the continuative form (連用形 (ren'yōkei)) of a verb, indicates the state of the affixed verb or phrase: compare English just as
    人々が言いなりになった
    ひとびとがいいなりになった
    hitobito ga iinari ni natta
    things turned out just as people say
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Korean

Hanja

形 (hangeul 형, revised hyeong, McCune-Reischauer hyŏng, Yale hyeng)

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Mandarin

Hanzi

形 (pinyin fǎng (fang3), xíng (xing2), Wade-Giles fang3, hsing2)

Compounds

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Middle Chinese

Han character

形 (*heng)

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Vietnamese

Han character

形 (hình, hềnh)

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Last modified on 19 March 2013, at 04:03