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Definition 2025

更

See also: 史 and 吏

Translingual

Stroke order

Han character

更 (radical 73 曰+3, 7 strokes, cangjie input 一中田大 (MLWK), four-corner 1050₆)

Derived characters

便硬梗

References

KangXi: page 502, character 6

Dai Kanwa Jiten: character 14283

Dae Jaweon: page 874, character 4

Hanyu Da Zidian: volume 1, page 20, character 2

Unihan data for U+66F4

Chinese

simp. and trad.		更

Glyph origin

Historical forms of the character 更
Bronze inscriptions	Large seal script	Small seal script

Characters in the same phonetic series (丙) (Zhengzhang, 2003)
	Old Chinese
更	kraːŋ, kraːŋs
粳	*kraːŋ
埂	kraːŋ, kraːŋʔ
浭	*kraːŋ
稉	*kraːŋ
梗	*kraːŋʔ
哽	*kraːŋʔ
綆	*kraːŋʔ
鯁	*kraːŋʔ
挭	*kraːŋʔ
骾	*kraːŋʔ
郠	*kraːŋʔ
硬	ŋɡraːŋs, ŋɡraːŋs
鞕	*ŋɡraːŋs
丙	*pqraŋʔ
炳	*praŋʔ
邴	praŋʔ, praŋs
怲	praŋʔ, praŋs
苪	*praŋʔ
蛃	*praŋʔ
昺	*praŋʔ
昞	*praŋʔ
窉	*praŋʔ
柄	praŋʔ, praŋs
鈵	*praŋs
寎	*praŋs
病	*braŋs

Pronunciation 1

Mandarin

(Pinyin): gēng (geng¹)

(Zhuyin): ㄍㄥ
Cantonese (Jyutping): gang¹
Hakka (Sixian, PFS): kiên
Min Nan

(Hokkien, POJ): keng / kng

(Teochew, Peng'im): gêng¹

Mandarin
- (Standard Chinese, Beijing)⁺
  - Pinyin: gēng
  - Zhuyin: ㄍㄥ
  - Wade-Giles: kêng¹
  - Gwoyeu Romatzyh: geng
  - IPA ^(key): /kɤŋ⁵⁵/
Cantonese
- (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou)⁺
  - Jyutping: gang¹
  - Yale: gāng
  - Cantonese Pinyin: gang¹
  - IPA ^(key): /kɐŋ⁵⁵/
Hakka
- (Northern Sixian, incl. Miaoli)
  - Pha̍k-fa-sṳ: kiên
  - Hakka Romanization System: gien´
  - Hagfa Pinyim: gian¹
  - IPA: /ki̯en²⁴/
Min Nan
- (Hokkien: Xiamen, Zhangzhou, mainstream Taiwanese)
  - Pe̍h-ōe-jī: keng
  - Tâi-lô: king
  - Phofsit Daibuun: kefng
  - IPA (Xiamen): /kiɪŋ⁴⁴/
  - IPA (Zhangzhou): /kiɪŋ⁴⁴/
  - IPA (Taipei): /kiɪŋ⁴⁴/
  - IPA (Kaohsiung): /kiɪŋ⁴⁴/
- (Hokkien: Quanzhou)
  - Pe̍h-ōe-jī: kng
  - Tâi-lô: kng
  - Phofsit Daibuun: kngf
  - IPA (Quanzhou): /kŋ̍³³/
  - Note: literary reading.
- (Teochew)
  - Peng'im: gêng¹
  - Pe̍h-ōe-jī-like: keng
  - IPA ^(key): /keŋ³³/

Dialectal data▼

Variety	Location	edit 更 (更換)
Mandarin	Beijing	/kəŋ⁵⁵/
	Harbin	/kəŋ⁴⁴/
	Tianjin	/kəŋ²¹/
	Jinan	/kəŋ²¹³/
	Qingdao	/kəŋ²¹³/
	Zhengzhou	/kəŋ²⁴/
	Xi'an	/kəŋ²¹/
	Xining	/kə̃⁴⁴/
	Yinchuan	/kəŋ⁴⁴/
	Lanzhou	/kə̃n³¹/
	Ürümqi	/kɤŋ⁴⁴/
	Wuhan	/kən⁵⁵/
	Chengdu	/kən⁵⁵/
	Guiyang	/ken²¹³/
	Kunming	/kə̃⁴⁴/
	Nanjing	/kən³¹/
	Hefei	/kən²¹/
Jin	Taiyuan	/kəŋ¹¹/ ～換 /t͡ɕiəŋ¹¹/ 五～
	Pingyao	/kəŋ¹³/
	Hohhot	/kə̃ŋ³¹/
Wu	Shanghai	/kã⁵³/ /kəŋ⁵³/
	Suzhou	/kã⁵⁵/
	Hangzhou	/ken³³/
	Wenzhou	/kiɛ³³/
Hui	Shexian	/kʌ̃³¹/ /kɛ³¹/ 打～
Hui	Tunxi	/t͡ɕiɛ¹¹/
Xiang	Changsha	/kən³³/
Xiang	Xiangtan	/kən³³/
Gan	Nanchang	/kɑŋ⁴²/ 打～
Hakka	Meixian	/kaŋ⁴⁴/
Hakka	Taoyuan	/kɑŋ²⁴/
Cantonese	Guangzhou	/kɐŋ⁵³/
	Nanning	/kɐŋ⁵⁵/
	Hong Kong	/kɐŋ⁵⁵/
Min	Xiamen (Min Nan)	/kiŋ⁵⁵/ /kĩ⁵⁵/
	Fuzhou (Min Dong)	/kaŋ⁴⁴/
	Jian'ou (Min Bei)	/kaiŋ³³/ /kaŋ⁵⁴/ 三～
	Shantou (Min Nan)	/keŋ³³/
	Haikou (Min Nan)	/keŋ²³/ /kɔŋ²³/

Middle Chinese: /kˠæŋ/▼

Rime
Character	更
Reading #	1/2
Initial (聲)	見 (28)
Final (韻)	庚 (109)
Tone (調)	Level (Ø)
Openness (開合)	Open
Division (等)	II
Fanqie	古行切
Reconstructions
Zhengzhang Shangfang	/kˠæŋ/
Pan Wuyun	/kᵚaŋ/
Shao Rongfen	/kaŋ/
Edwin Pulleyblank	/kaɨjŋ/
Li Rong	/kɐŋ/
Wang Li	/kɐŋ/
Bernard Karlgren	/kɐŋ/
Expected Mandarin Reflex	gēng

Old Chinese▼

(Baxter-Sagart): /*kˤraŋ/

(Zhengzhang): /*kraːŋ/

Baxter-Sagart system 1.1 (2014)
Character	更
Reading #	1/2
Modern Beijing (Pinyin)	gēng
Middle Chinese	‹ kæng ›
Old Chinese	/*kˤraŋ/
English	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	更
Reading #	1/2
No.	866
Phonetic component	丙
Rime group	陽
Rime subdivision	0
Corresponding MC rime	庚
Old Chinese	/*kraːŋ/

Definitions

更

Compounds

Derived terms from 更

厲精更始／厉精更始
堂構更新／堂构更新
改姓更名
改弦更張／改弦更张
更代
更休
更僕難數／更仆难数
更動／更动
更化
更名
更名改姓
更唱
更始 (Gēngshǐ)
更姓
更定
更審／更审
更年
更年期 (gēngniánqī)

更弦易轍／更弦易辙
更張／更张
更換／更换 (gēnghuàn)
更改 (gēnggǎi)
更故
更新 (gēngxīn)
更新換代／更新换代
更易
更替
更次
更正 (gēngzhèng)
更正啟事／更正启事
更番
更相
更立
更端
更行
更衣 (gēngyī)

更衣室 (gēngyīshì)
更訂／更订
更調／更调
更變／更变
更賦／更赋
更迭 (gēngdié)
朝更夕改
朝更暮改
洗削更革
洗盞更酌／洗盏更酌
滌故更新／涤故更新
紛更／纷更
與民更始／与民更始
萬象更新／万象更新 (wànxiàng gēngxīn)
解弦更張／解弦更张
變更／变更 (biàngēng)
除舊更新／除旧更新

Pronunciation 2

Mandarin

(Pinyin): gēng (geng¹)

(Zhuyin): ㄍㄥ
Cantonese (Jyutping): gaang¹
Hakka (Sixian, PFS): kâng
Min Nan

(Hokkien, POJ): kiⁿ / keⁿ

(Teochew, Peng'im): gên¹

Mandarin
- (Standard Chinese, Beijing)⁺
  - Pinyin: gēng
  - Zhuyin: ㄍㄥ
  - Wade-Giles: kêng¹
  - Gwoyeu Romatzyh: geng
  - IPA ^(key): /kɤŋ⁵⁵/
Cantonese
- (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou)⁺
  - Jyutping: gaang¹
  - Yale: gāang
  - Cantonese Pinyin: gaang¹
  - IPA ^(key): /kɑːŋ⁵⁵/
Hakka
- (Sixian, incl. Miaoli and Meinong)
  - Pha̍k-fa-sṳ: kâng
  - Hakka Romanization System: gang´
  - Hagfa Pinyim: gang¹
  - IPA: /kaŋ²⁴/
Min Nan
- (Hokkien: Xiamen, Quanzhou, Taipei, Lukang, Sanxia, Kinmen, Magong, Hsinchu)
  - Pe̍h-ōe-jī: kiⁿ
  - Tâi-lô: kinn
  - Phofsit Daibuun: kvy
  - IPA (Xiamen): /kĩ⁴⁴/
  - IPA (Quanzhou): /kĩ³³/
  - IPA (Taipei): /kĩ⁴⁴/
- (Hokkien: Zhangzhou, Kaohsiung, Tainan, Yilan, Taichung)
  - Pe̍h-ōe-jī: keⁿ
  - Tâi-lô: kenn
  - Phofsit Daibuun: kvef
  - IPA (Zhangzhou): /kɛ̃⁴⁴/
  - IPA (Kaohsiung): /kẽ⁴⁴/
  - Note: vernacular reading.
- (Teochew)
  - Peng'im: gên¹
  - Pe̍h-ōe-jī-like: keⁿ
  - IPA ^(key): /kẽ³³/

Middle Chinese: /kˠæŋ/▼

Rime
Character	更
Reading #	1/2
Initial (聲)	見 (28)
Final (韻)	庚 (109)
Tone (調)	Level (Ø)
Openness (開合)	Open
Division (等)	II
Fanqie	古行切
Reconstructions
Zhengzhang Shangfang	/kˠæŋ/
Pan Wuyun	/kᵚaŋ/
Shao Rongfen	/kaŋ/
Edwin Pulleyblank	/kaɨjŋ/
Li Rong	/kɐŋ/
Wang Li	/kɐŋ/
Bernard Karlgren	/kɐŋ/
Expected Mandarin Reflex	gēng

Old Chinese▼

(Baxter-Sagart): /*kˤraŋ/

(Zhengzhang): /*kraːŋ/

Baxter-Sagart system 1.1 (2014)
Character	更
Reading #	1/2
Modern Beijing (Pinyin)	gēng
Middle Chinese	‹ kæng ›
Old Chinese	/*kˤraŋ/
English	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	更
Reading #	1/2
No.	866
Phonetic component	丙
Rime group	陽
Rime subdivision	0
Corresponding MC rime	庚
Old Chinese	/*kraːŋ/

Definitions

更

(historical) watch (of a sentry)
(historical) one of the five two-hour periods into which the night was formerly divided

Compounds

Derived terms from 更

三更 (sāngēng)
三更半夜
三更四鼓
九更天
二五更
五更 (wǔgēng)
五更三點／五更三点
五更天
五更雞／五更鸡
五更頭／五更头
值更
八更
初更 (chūgēng)
半夜三更 (bànyèsāngēng)
司更
嚴更／严更
坐更
夜半三更
夜靜更深／夜静更深

夜靜更長／夜静更长
夜靜更闌／夜静更阑
守更
定更
巡更
打更 (gēnggēng)
持更
更夜
更夫 (gēngfū)
更房
更樓／更楼
更次
更深 (gēngshēn)
更深人靜／更深人静
更深半夜
更深夜靜／更深夜静
更漏
更籌／更筹
更籤／更签

更長夢短／更长梦短
更長漏永／更长漏永
更闌／更阑
更闌人靜／更阑人静
更頭／更头
更點／更点
更鼓
更鼓敲盡／更鼓敲尽
深更半夜 (shēngēngbànyè)
漏盡更闌／漏尽更阑
率更
看更
知更鳥／知更鸟 (zhīgēngniǎo)
起更
連更徹夜／连更彻夜
鬼打更
黑更半夜
鼉更／鼍更

Pronunciation 3

Mandarin

(Pinyin): gèng (geng⁴)

(Zhuyin): ㄍㄥˋ
Cantonese (Jyutping): gang³
Hakka (Sixian, PFS): kien
Min Nan

(Hokkien, POJ): kèng / kǹg

(Teochew, Peng'im): gêng³

Mandarin
- (Standard Chinese, Beijing)⁺
  - Pinyin: gèng
  - Zhuyin: ㄍㄥˋ
  - Wade-Giles: kêng⁴
  - Gwoyeu Romatzyh: genq
  - IPA ^(key): /kɤŋ⁵¹/
Cantonese
- (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou)⁺
  - Jyutping: gang³
  - Yale: gang
  - Cantonese Pinyin: gang³
  - IPA ^(key): /kɐŋ³³/
Hakka
- (Sixian, incl. Miaoli and Meinong)
  - Pha̍k-fa-sṳ: kien
  - Hakka Romanization System: gien
  - Hagfa Pinyim: gian⁴
  - IPA: /ki̯en⁵⁵/
Min Nan
- (Hokkien: Xiamen, Zhangzhou, mainstream Taiwanese)
  - Pe̍h-ōe-jī: kèng
  - Tâi-lô: kìng
  - Phofsit Daibuun: kexng
  - IPA (Xiamen): /kiɪŋ²¹/
  - IPA (Zhangzhou): /kiɪŋ²¹/
  - IPA (Taipei): /kiɪŋ¹¹/
  - IPA (Kaohsiung): /kiɪŋ²¹/
- (Hokkien: Quanzhou)
  - Pe̍h-ōe-jī: kǹg
  - Tâi-lô: kǹg
  - Phofsit Daibuun: kngx
  - IPA (Quanzhou): /kŋ̍⁴¹/
  - Note: literary reading.
- (Teochew)
  - Peng'im: gêng³
  - Pe̍h-ōe-jī-like: kèng
  - IPA ^(key): /keŋ²¹³/

Dialectal data▼

Variety	Location	edit 更 (更加)
Mandarin	Beijing	/kəŋ⁵¹/
	Harbin	/kəŋ⁵³/
	Tianjin	/kəŋ⁵³/
	Jinan	/kəŋ²¹/
	Qingdao	/kəŋ⁴²/
	Zhengzhou	/kəŋ³¹²/
	Xi'an	/kəŋ⁴⁴/
	Xining	/kə̃²¹³/
	Yinchuan	/kəŋ¹³/
	Lanzhou	/kə̃n¹³/
	Ürümqi	/kɤŋ²¹³/
	Wuhan	/kən³⁵/
	Chengdu	/kən¹³/
	Guiyang	/ken²¹³/
	Kunming	/kə̃¹/
	Nanjing	/kən⁴⁴/
	Hefei	/kən⁵³/
Jin	Taiyuan	/kəŋ⁴⁵/
	Pingyao	/kəŋ³⁵/
	Hohhot	/kə̃ŋ⁵⁵/
Wu	Shanghai	/kəŋ³⁵/
	Suzhou	/kən⁵¹/
	Hangzhou	/ken⁴⁴⁵/
	Wenzhou	/kiɛ⁴²/
Hui	Shexian	/kʌ̃³²⁴/
Hui	Tunxi	/kiɛ¹¹/
Xiang	Changsha	/kən⁵⁵/
Xiang	Xiangtan	/kən⁵⁵/
Gan	Nanchang	/kiɛn⁴⁵/
Hakka	Meixian	/ken⁵³/
Hakka	Taoyuan	/ken⁵⁵/
Cantonese	Guangzhou	/kɐŋ³³/
	Nanning	/kɐŋ³³/
	Hong Kong	/kɐŋ³³/
Min	Xiamen (Min Nan)	/kiŋ²¹/
	Fuzhou (Min Dong)	/kaiŋ²¹²/
	Jian'ou (Min Bei)	/kaiŋ³³/
	Shantou (Min Nan)	/keŋ²¹³/
	Haikou (Min Nan)	/keŋ³⁵/ /kɔŋ³⁵/

Middle Chinese: /kˠæŋ^H/▼

Rime
Character	更
Reading #	2/2
Initial (聲)	見 (28)
Final (韻)	庚 (109)
Tone (調)	Departing (H)
Openness (開合)	Open
Division (等)	II
Fanqie	古孟切
Reconstructions
Zhengzhang Shangfang	/kˠæŋ^H/
Pan Wuyun	/kᵚaŋ^H/
Shao Rongfen	/kaŋ^H/
Edwin Pulleyblank	/kaɨjŋ^H/
Li Rong	/kɐŋ^H/
Wang Li	/kɐŋ^H/
Bernard Karlgren	/kɐŋ^H/
Expected Mandarin Reflex	gèng

Old Chinese▼

(Baxter-Sagart): /*kˤraŋ-s/

(Zhengzhang): /*kraːŋs/

Baxter-Sagart system 1.1 (2014)
Character	更
Reading #	2/2
Modern Beijing (Pinyin)	gèng
Middle Chinese	‹ kæng^H ›
Old Chinese	/*kˤraŋ-s/
English	still more
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	更
Reading #	2/2
No.	879
Phonetic component	丙
Rime group	陽
Rime subdivision	0
Corresponding MC rime	更
Old Chinese	/*kraːŋs/

Definitions

更

more; further; even more

Compounds

Derived terms from 更

更上層樓／更上层楼
更不消說／更不消说
更且
更做
更做到
更做道
更則道／更则道

更加 (gèngjiā)
更勝一籌／更胜一筹
更待何時／更待何时 (gèng dài héshí)
更待干罷／更待干罢
更復／更复
更甚

更生 (gēngshēng)
更生人
更生保護／更生保护
更轉一竿／更转一竿
自力更生 (zìlìgēngshēng)
那更

References

(Mandarin) 更 in CEDICT on MDBG
(Hakka) Lau, Chun-fat. Hakka Pinyin Dictionary (Chinese). Hong Kong: The Chinese University Press, 1997 (Chinese IME supplement) ISBN 962-201-750-9.
(Min Nan) “Entry #3228”, in 臺灣閩南語常用詞辭典 [Dictionary of Frequently-Used Taiwan Minnan] (in Chinese and Min Nan), Ministry of Education, R.O.C., 2011.

Japanese

Kanji

更

(common “Jōyō” kanji)

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

Readings

Goon: きょう (kyō) (non-Jōyō reading)

Kan’on: こう (kō)

Kun: さら (sara), ふける (fukeru), あらためる (aratameru)

Compounds

変更 (へんこう, henkō)
更新 (こうしん, kōshin)

Korean

Hanja

更 • ‎(gyeong, gaeng) (hangeul 경, 갱, revised gyeong, gaeng, McCune-Reischauer kyŏng, kaeng, Yale kyeng, kayng)

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

Vietnamese

Han character

更 (canh, cánh)

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

Definify.com

Definition 2025

更

更

Translingual

Han character

Derived characters

References

Chinese

Glyph origin

Pronunciation 1

Definitions

Compounds

Pronunciation 2

Definitions

Compounds

Pronunciation 3

Definitions

Compounds

References

Japanese

Kanji

Readings

Compounds

Korean

Hanja

Vietnamese

Han character

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