Translingual

Stroke order

Han character

形 (radical 59 彡+4, 7 strokes, cangjie input 一廿竹竹竹 (MTHHH), four-corner 1242₂, composition ⿰开彡)

References

• KangXi: page 363, character 6
• Dai Kanwa Jiten: character 9969
• Dae Jaweon: page 681, character 25
• Hanyu Da Zidian: volume 2, page 852, character 10
• Unihan data for U+5F62

Chinese

Etymology

Historical forms of the character 形
Large seal script	Small seal script

Ideogrammic compound (會意) : 幵 + 彡. In current form 幵 has been simplified to 开.

Pronunciation

Definitions

形

1. form; shape; appearance

   形狀 / 形状  ―  xíngzhuàng  ―  form; appearance; shape

2. image; appearance
3. body; entity; contour

   形體 / 形体  ―  xíngtǐ  ―  physique

4. style; vogue
5. (grammar) Short for 形容詞／形容词 (xíngróngcí, “adjective”).

Synonyms

• (form): 樣／样 (yàng), 型 (xíng)

Compounds

Japanese

Kanji

(grade 2 “Kyōiku” kanji)

1. shape, form, style

Readings

• Goon: ぎょう (gyō) < ぎやう (gyau)
• Kan’on: けい (kei)
• Kun: がた (gata), かた (kata), かたち (katachi), かたぎ (katagi), なり (nari)
• Nanori: ち (chi)

Compounds

Etymology 1

Probably related to 堅い / 硬い / 固い (​katai), hard.

Pronunciation

• Kun'yomi
• IPA^(key): /ka.ta/, [ka̠ta̠]

Alternative forms

• 型

Noun

形 ‎(hiragana かた, romaji kata)

1. a shape
2. a form
3. a pattern, die, or model from which copies are made
4. on a coin, the side with writing on it: see antonym 縵面 (​name)
5. collateral for borrowed money

Etymology 2

Derived from kata above. The kata changes to gata as an instance of rendaku (連濁). Only found in compounds.

Pronunciation

• Kun'yomi
• IPA^(key): /ɡa.ta/, [ɡa̠ta̠], [ŋa̠ta̠]

Alternative forms

• 型

Suffix

形 ‎(hiragana がた, romaji -gata)

1. (affixed to nouns): the shape or form of the affixed noun

   渦巻 (うずま)き形 (がた)

   uzumakigata

   a whirlpool shape

   卵 (たまご)形 (がた)

   tamagogata

   an egg shape

2. (affixed to on'yomi nouns): a typical example of the affixed noun; the type of the affixed noun

   学者 (がくしゃ)形 (がた)

   gakushagata

   a scholar type

   英雄 (えいゆう)形 (がた)

   eiyūgata

   a hero type

Usage notes

For a shape, the spelling 形 is more commonly used. For a type, the spelling 型 is more commonly used.

Etymology 3

Derived from 形木 (​katagi), itself a compound of 形 ‎(kata, “shape”) +‎ 木 ‎(ki, “tree, wood”), meaning stencil. The ki changes to gi as an instance of rendaku (連濁).

Pronunciation

• Kun'yomi
• IPA^(key): /ka.ta.ɡi/, [ka̠ta̠ɡi]

Alternative forms

• 気質
• 容気

Noun

形 ‎(hiragana かたぎ, romaji katagi)

1. social customs, mores
2. one's appearance; one's stance or body language
3. one's character, disposition, nature

Suffix

形 ‎(hiragana かたぎ, romaji -katagi)

1. the character, disposition, or nature of the affixed noun

Etymology 4

Unknown. Appears to be /kata/ + /chi/, but the derivation of the /chi/ element is unclear.

Pronunciation

• Kun'yomi
• IPA^(key): /ka.ta.t͡ɕi/, [ka̠ta̠t͡ɕi]

Alternative forms

• 容

Noun

形 ‎(hiragana かたち, romaji katachi)

1. shape or form
2. form, as opposed to substance
3. shapeliness: see 形有り (​katachiari)

Etymology 5

From Middle Chinese 形 ‎(heng). Compare modern Mandarin 形 ‎(xíng). The kan'on reading, so likely a later borrowing.

Pronunciation

• On'yomi: Kan'on
• IPA^(key): /ke.e/, [ke̞ː]

Suffix

形 ‎(hiragana けい, romaji -kei)

1. (linguistics) grammatical tense

   過去 (かこ)形 (けい)

   kakokei

   the past tense

   将来 (しょうらい)形 (けい)

   shōraikei

   the future tense

2. (Japanese grammar) a conjugation form of a verb

   連用 (れんよう)形 (けい)

   ren'yōkei

   the continuative form

   命令 (めいれい)形 (けい)

   meireikei

   the imperative or command form

Etymology 6

From 成り (​nari), the 連用形 ‎(ren'yōkei, “continuative form”) of the verb 成る ‎(naru, “to become”).

Pronunciation

• Kun'yomi
• IPA^(key): /na.ri/, [na̠ɽi]

Alternative forms

• 態
• なり

Usage notes

The most common spelling for this use is なり, for all parts of speech.

Noun

形 ‎(hiragana なり, romaji nari)

1. one's clothing and appearance
2. one's body shape or form
3. one's circumstances or situation
4. one's reputation
5. following the plain imperfective form (attributive form, 連対形 (​rentaikei)) or plain perfective form of a verb, indicates the state of the affixed verb or phrase: compare English just as

   人々 (ひとびと)の言 (い)うなりになった

   hitobito no iu nari ni natta

   things turned out just as people were saying

6. following the plain imperfective form (attributive form, 連対形 (​rentaikei)) of an adjective, indicates responding to the affixed adjective: compare English fitting

   寒 (さむ)ければ寒 (さむ)いなりの厚着 (あつぎ)をする

   samukereba samui nari no atsugi o suru

   if it's cold, then put on warm clothing / if it's cold, then put on warm clothes for cold weather

7. following the plain imperfective form (attributive form, 連対形 (​rentaikei)) of a verb, indicates the moment of the action occurring: compare English as soon as

   断 (ことわ)りを聞 (き)くなり泣 (な)き出 (だ)した

   kotowari o kiku nari nakidashita

   she burst into tears as soon as she heard the rejection

8. following a noun, indicates a state fitting or becoming to the affixed noun

   子供 (こども)なりに想像 (そうぞう)する

   kodomo nari ni sōzō suru

   imagine in a way fitting for a child / imagine like a child (implies that the subject is a child)

   自分 (じぶん)なりの判断 (はんだん)

   jibun nari no handan

   my own kind of decision / deciding in my own way

9. following a noun, indicates that shape or form: compare English like

   弓 (ゆみ)なりになる

   yumi nari ni naru

   to become bow-shaped / to become like a bow

Suffix

形 ‎(hiragana なり, romaji -nari)

1. following the 連用形 ‎(ren'yōkei, “continuative form”) of a verb, indicates the state of the affixed verb or phrase: compare English just as

   人々 (ひとびと)が言 (い)いなりになった

   hitobito ga īnari ni natta

   things turned out just as people say

Korean

Hanja

形 • ‎(hyeong) (hangeul 형, McCune-Reischauer hyŏng, Yale hyeng)

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Vietnamese

Han character

形 (hình, hềnh)

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