(gǎi) - to change, to alter, to correct in Mandarin
gǎiTraditional: 改
Translation
to change, to alter, to correct
Word origin
A phono-semantic character combining 攴 (pū, a hand holding a stick, the sense of acting on something) with 己 (jǐ) as the phonetic element.
- Origin
- phono-semantic compound
- Root
- 攴 (pū, hand with a stick) + 己 (jǐ, phonetic)
Stroke order
改
Examples
。
The teacher is marking our homework.
。
I changed my name.
。
This habit is hard to break.
。
The meeting has been moved to next Wednesday.
句。
Please correct this sentence.
改 (gǎi) is the verb for altering something that already exists so that it is better or simply different. You 改 a date, a name, a bad habit, a draft, a plan. A teacher 改 homework, which in British terms is marking it, because the marking consists of correcting what is wrong.
It attaches happily to other verbs to say what the change produced. 改成 is to change something into something else, 改好 is to finish correcting it, 改到 moves an appointment to a new slot, and 改天 means "some other day", the standard soft refusal when you do not want to commit.
The trap is treating 改 and 变 as interchangeable. 变 is change that happens, often on its own: 天气变了, the weather has changed. 改 is change that somebody does deliberately to something. Your plans 变 when the world interferes; you 改 them when you sit down and rewrite them.
Where this fits
Used in
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改: worksheet, infographic and listicle
Free printable study downloads for the Mandarin word "改" (to change, to alter, to correct): a worksheet with the answer key built in, an infographic, and a sentence listicle. Open any one to view, print or save.
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Start your free weekThis word is part of lesson 56.