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干

亁
gān
#353 most
frequent character
do
verb

Character breakdown

Source: Make Me a Hanzi.

干 is a drawing of a hunting or military tool, so its first meaning was that tool. It grew to mean 'shield', then 'to interfere'. Later the same written form was borrowed for 'celestial stem' and for 'dry', just for its sound. In simplified Chinese it also stands for 幹 gàn 'to work' and 乾 gān 'to dry'.

Drawn as: hunting or military tool

干 as a component in other characters

meaning1 character
刊
sound19 characters
赶岸刊汗肝奸杆罕轩旱竿鼾秆矸酐旰
picture4 characters
奸罕讦顸

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Example Sentences

我每天都要干作业。
wǒ měitiān dūyào gān zuòyè 。
I have to do homework every day.
你今天要干什么？
nǐ jīntiān yào gànshénme ？
What do you want to do today?
他在干运动。
tāzài gān yùndòng 。
He is doing sports.

Same Characters, Different Readings

干gān
do
干Gan1
surname Gan
干gān
do
干Gan1
surname Gan
干gān
do
HSK 5
干gàn
to work, to do, to manage

Words with similar meanings

做zuò
to do
A more general term that can refer to any type of doing or making.

Words Starting With 干

干净gān jìng
clean; neat
干杯gān bēi
to drink a toast; Cheers! (proposing a toast); Here's to you!; Bottoms up!; lit. dry cup
干燥gān zào
"to dry (of weather, paint, cement etc); desiccation; dull; uninteresting; arid"
干脆gān cuì
straightforward; clear-cut; blunt (e.g. statement); you might as well; simply
干扰gān rǎo
to interfere; obstruction

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Homophones

干gān
do
干gān
do
杆gān
pole, staff
肝gān
liver
甘gān
(bound form) sweet