階

See also: 阶

階 U+968E, 階 CJK UNIFIED IDEOGRAPH-968E ← 隍 [U+968D] CJK Unified Ideographs 随 → [U+968F]

Translingual

Han character

階 (radical 170, 阜+9, 12 strokes, cangjie input 弓中心心日 (NLPPA), four-corner 7126₁, composition ⿰阝皆)

References

• KangXi: page 1357, character 9
• Dai Kanwa Jiten: character 41755
• Dae Jaweon: page 1861, character 9
• Hanyu Da Zidian (first edition): volume 6, page 4143, character 4
• Unihan data for U+968E

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Chinese

trad.		階
simp.		阶
alternative forms		堦

Glyph origin

Historical forms of the character 階
Shuowen Jiezi (compiled in Han)	Liushutong (compiled in Ming)
Small seal script	Transcribed ancient scripts

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

	Old Chinese
皆	*kriːl
偕	*kriːl
階	*kriːl
喈	*kriːl
稭	*kriːl, *kriːd
堦	*kriːl
楷	*kriːl, *kʰriːlʔ
鶛	*kriːl
湝	*kriːl, *ɡriːl
蝔	*kriːl, *ɡriːl
鍇	*kriːl, *kʰriːlʔ
揩	*kʰriːl
諧	*ɡriːl
瑎	*ɡriːl
龤	*ɡriːl

Phono-semantic compound (形聲, OC *kriːl): semantic 阝 + phonetic 皆 (OC *kriːl).

Pronunciation

• Mandarin

  (Pinyin): jiē (jie¹)

  (Zhuyin): ㄐㄧㄝ

• Cantonese (Jyutping): gaai¹
• Min Dong (BUC): gā̤ / găi
• Min Nan

  (Hokkien, POJ): kai

  (Teochew, Peng'im): gai¹

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• Mandarin
  • (Standard Chinese)⁺
    • Pinyin: jiē
    • Zhuyin: ㄐㄧㄝ
    • Wade–Giles: chieh1
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: jie
    • Tongyong Pinyin: jie
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /t͡ɕjɛ⁵⁵/
• Cantonese
  • (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou)⁺
    • Jyutping: gaai¹
    • Yale: gāai
    • Cantonese Pinyin: gaai¹
    • Guangdong Romanization: gai¹
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /käːi̯⁵⁵/
• Min Dong
  • (Fuzhou)
    • Bàng-uâ-cê: gā̤ / găi
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /kɛ³³/, /kai⁵⁵/
• Min Nan
  • (Hokkien)
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: kai
    • Tâi-lô: kai
    • Phofsit Daibuun: kay
    • IPA (Xiamen): /kai⁴⁴/
    • IPA (Quanzhou): /kai³³/
    • IPA (Zhangzhou): /kai⁴⁴/
    • IPA (Taipei): /kai⁴⁴/
    • IPA (Kaohsiung): /kai⁴⁴/
  • (Teochew)
    • Peng'im: gai¹
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī-like: kai
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /kai³³/

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• Middle Chinese: /kˠɛi/

Rime
Character	階
Reading #	1/1
Initial (聲)	見 (28)
Final (韻)	皆 (33)
Tone (調)	Level (Ø)
Openness (開合)	Open
Division (等)	II
Fanqie	古諧切
Reconstructions
Zhengzhang Shangfang	/kˠɛi/
Pan Wuyun	/kᵚæi/
Shao Rongfen	/kɐi/
Edwin Pulleyblank	/kəɨj/
Li Rong	/kɛi/
Wang Li	/kɐi/
Bernard Karlgren	/kăi/
Expected Mandarin Reflex	jiē
Expected Cantonese Reflex	gaai1

• Old Chinese

  (Baxter–Sagart): /*kˤrij/

  (Zhengzhang): /*kriːl/

Baxter–Sagart system 1.1 (2014)
Character	階
Reading #	1/1
Modern Beijing (Pinyin)	jiē
Middle Chinese	‹ kɛj ›
Old Chinese	/*kˁrij/
English	steps, stairs
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	階
Reading #	1/1
No.	6417
Phonetic component	皆
Rime group	脂
Rime subdivision	1
Corresponding MC rime	皆
Old Chinese	/*kriːl/

Definitions

階

1. stair; step

   階梯 / 阶梯  ―  jiētī  ―  staircase

   • 夫不違，乃違也。夫不違，亡之階也。 [Classical Chinese, trad.]
     夫不违，乃违也。夫不违，亡之阶也。 [Classical Chinese, simp.]

     From: Guoyu, circa 4^th century BCE

     Fú bùwéi, nǎi wéi yě. Fú bùwéi, wáng zhī jiē yě. [Pinyin]

     They never go against you, which is indeed their way of betraying you. Their unconditional compliance is the stepstone to you ruin.

2. (figuratively) rank; degree; level; seniority; order of precedence

   官階 / 官阶  ―  guānjiē  ―  rank of an official

   進階中文課 / 进阶中文课  ―  jìnjiē zhōngwén kè  ―  advanced(-level) course in Chinese

3. (figuratively) phase; stage (serially-ordered division of time, level of completion, etc.)

   階段 / 阶段  ―  jiēduàn  ―  stage

4. (music) scale

   五聲音階 / 五声音阶  ―  wǔshēngyīnjiē  ―  pentatonic scale

5. (mathematics) order; degree (quantity signifying various concepts in mathematics, chiefly integer-valued)

   二階微分方程 / 二阶微分方程  ―  èrjiē wēifēnfāngchéng  ―  second-order differential equation

   1. (graph theory) the number of vertices in a graph

      • 顯然任何n階圖是一個n部圖。 [MSC, trad.]
        显然任何n阶图是一个n部图。 [MSC, simp.]

        From: 2012, Xiong Bin and Zheng Zhongyi, Graph Theory, page 18

        Xiǎnrán rènhé n jiē tú shì yīge n bù tú. [Pinyin]

        Evidently, every n-vertex graph is an n-partite graph.

6. A surname​.

Compounds

Derived terms from 階

• 一階半級／一阶半级
• 一階半職／一阶半职
• 三階／三阶
• 三階佛法／三阶佛法
• 三階教／三阶教
• 下層階級／下层阶级
• 下臺階／下台阶 (xià táijiē)
• 中產階級／中产阶级 (zhōngchǎn jiējí)
• 亂階／乱阶
• 位階／位阶
• 低階／低阶 (dījiē)
• 初階／初阶
• 半音階／半音阶 (bànyīnjiē)
• 厲階／厉阶
• 土階茅屋／土阶茅屋
• 土階茅茨／土阶茅茨
• 堯階蓂莢／尧阶蓂荚
• 大音階／大音阶 (dàyīnjiē)
• 太階／太阶
• 官階／官阶 (guānjiē)
• 小音階／小音阶 (xiǎoyīnjiē)
• 工商階級／工商阶级
• 巧不可階／巧不可阶
• 平臺階段／平台阶段
• 循階／循阶
• 找臺階／找台阶
• 找臺階下／找台阶下
• 日轉千階／日转千阶
• 晉階／晋阶

• 月地雲階／月地云阶
• 有產階級／有产阶级 (yǒuchǎn jiējí)
• 木階／木阶
• 東階／东阶
• 河階／河阶
• 沿階草／沿阶草
• 泰階／泰阶
• 泰階平／泰阶平
• 海平階／海平阶
• 無產階級／无产阶级 (wúchǎn jiējí)
• 玉階／玉阶
• 玉階怨／玉阶怨
• 現階段／现阶段
• 瑤階／瑶阶
• 白領階級／白领阶级
• 知識階級／知识阶级 (zhīshi jiējí)
• 石階／石阶 (shíjiē)
• 社會階級／社会阶级 (shèhuì jiējí)
• 禍作福階／祸作福阶
• 臺階／台阶 (táijiē)
• 茅室土階／茅室土阶
• 茅茨土階／茅茨土阶
• 藍領階級／蓝领阶级
• 螺階／螺阶
• 西階／西阶
• 資產階級／资产阶级 (zīchǎn jiējí)
• 超階越次／超阶越次
• 躇階／躇阶

• 軍階／军阶 (jūnjiē)
• 連階累任／连阶累任
• 進身之階／进身之阶
• 進階／进阶 (jìnjiē)
• 阼階／阼阶
• 降階／降阶
• 階下／阶下 (jiēxià)
• 階下囚／阶下囚 (jiēxiàqiú)
• 階乘／阶乘 (jiēchéng)
• 階層／阶层 (jiēcéng)
• 階心／阶心
• 階梯／阶梯 (jiētī)
• 階段／阶段 (jiēduàn)
• 階砌／阶砌
• 階級／阶级 (jiējí)
• 階級意識／阶级意识
• 階級敵人／阶级敌人
• 階級矛盾／阶级矛盾
• 階級鬥爭／阶级斗争 (jiējí dòuzhēng)
• 階緣／阶缘
• 階進／阶进
• 階陛／阶陛
• 階除／阶除
• 雲階月地／云阶月地
• 音階／音阶 (yīnjiē)
• 高階／高阶 (gāojiē)
• 高階層／高阶层
• 高階語言／高阶语言 (gāojiē yǔyán)

Descendants

Sino-Xenic (階):

• → Japanese: 階(かい) (kai)

References

• “階”, 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–

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Japanese

Kanji

階

(grade 3 “Kyōiku” kanji)

1. storey; story; floor​

Readings

• Go-on: け (ke)
• Kan-on: かい (kai, Jōyō)
• Kun: きざはし (kizahashi, 階); はしご (hashigo, 階); しな (shina, 階)

Etymology

Kanji in this term
階
かい Grade: 3
on’yomi

From Middle Chinese 階 (MC kˠɛi).

Pronunciation

• On’yomi
• IPA^(key): [ka̠i]

Affix

階(かい) • (kai) 

1. step; stair; storey
2. class; rank; level

Counter

階(かい) • (-kai) 

1. floors, storeys (of a building)

   （私(わたし)の）オフィスは五(ご)階(かい)にあります。

   (watashi no) ofisu wa go-kai ni arimasu.

   (My) office is on the fifth floor.

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Korean

Hanja

階 • (gye) (hangeul 계, revised gye, McCune–Reischauer kye, Yale kyey)

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

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Vietnamese

Han character

階: Hán Nôm readings: giai

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