Dong Chinese dictionary

gǎi

change

Phonosemantic compound. 攵 represents the meaning and 己 represents the sound.

Components

jǐ

self

改 and 己 don't sound similar in modern Mandarin due to historical phonetic changes. They were more similar in older Chinese.改 /*C.qˤəʔ/
己 /*k(r)əʔ/, /*k(r)əʔ/

攵 Meaning component

pū

tap

攵 is a component form of 攴.

Evolution

Seal script

Shuowen (~100 AD)

Clerical script

Eastern Han dynasty (25-220 AD)

Clerical script

Eastern Han dynasty (25-220 AD)

Clerical script

Eastern Han dynasty (25-220 AD)

Regular script

Modern

Definitions

改

gǎi

change, alter; improve, remodel; to change; to alter; to transform; to correct

Most common words with 改

Freq.	Word	Meaning
	改变	to change
	改	to change
	改革	reform
	改善	to make better
	改造	to transform

Sources

MTSU Chinese text computing

漢語多功能字庫

Freq.

Word

Meaning