介

See also: 个

Translingual

Stroke order

Stroke order

Han character

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

Derived characters

• 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, 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

Descendants

• ケ (Katakana character derived from Man'yōgana)

References

• 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

simp. and trad.		介

Glyph origin

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

Pronunciation

• 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
• Eastern Min (BUC): gái
• Southern Min

  (Hokkien, POJ): kài

  (Teochew, Peng'im): gai³

• Wu (Wugniu)
  • (Northern): ⁵cia; ⁵ka

---

• 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/
• 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):
    • Wugniu: ⁵cia; ⁵ka
    • MiniDict: cia^去; ka^去
    • Wiktionary Romanisation (Shanghai): ²jia; ²ka
    • Sinological IPA (Shanghai): /t͡ɕia³⁴/, /ka³⁴/

---

• 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/
	Tunxi	/ka⁴²/
Xiang	Changsha	/kai⁵⁵/
	Xiangtan	/kai⁵⁵/
Gan	Nanchang	/kai⁴⁵/
Hakka	Meixian	/kiai⁵³/
	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	/kˠɛiH/
Pan Wuyun	/kᵚæiH/
Shao Rongfen	/kɐiH/
Edwin Pulleyblank	/kəɨjH/
Li Rong	/kɛiH/
Wang Li	/kɐiH/
Bernard Karlgren	/kăiH/
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	‹ kɛjH ›
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

(deprecated template usage) 介

1. to lie between
2. to relate two things; to connect; to link; to introduce
3. to assist; to help
4. to hang; to suspend
5. to rely on; to depend on
6. firm; persistent; unswerving
7. such; like this; this kind of
8. Original form of 界 (jiè, “boundary; role; duty”).
9. iota; tiny bit. (deprecated template usage) Alternative form of 芥 (jiè).
10. Classifier for people or copper coins.
11. seashell; shell
12. to wear armour
13. (Eastern Min) again; re-
14. (loanword, Taiwan) zepto- (SI unit prefix)

See also

SI prefix
Last		Next
阿	介/仄	攸/幺

Etymology 2

Pronunciation

• Cantonese (Jyutping): gai¹

---

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

Definitions

(deprecated template usage) 介

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

Glyph origin

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 3

Pronunciation

• Hakka (Sixian, PFS): ke

---

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

---

• 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/
	Tunxi	/ka⁴²/
Xiang	Changsha	/kai⁵⁵/
	Xiangtan	/kai⁵⁵/
Gan	Nanchang	/kai⁴⁵/
Hakka	Meixian	/kiai⁵³/
	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/

Definitions

(deprecated template usage) 介

1. (Hakka) (deprecated template usage) Alternative form of 个 (“possessive particle”).

---

Japanese

Kanji

介

(common “Jōyō” kanji)

Readings

• 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

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

• 介する
• 介添え

Etymology

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

From Middle Chinese 介 (MC keajH).

Affix

介(かい) • (kai) 

1. to be between, mediate
2. assist; help
3. shell, shellfish
4. armor

---

Korean

Hanja

介 (eum 개 (gae))

1. forerunner, herald, harbinger
2. to lie between
3. sea shell
4. to wear armor

---

Vietnamese

Han character

介: Hán Nôm readings: giới

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