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加

Tap the pinyin to hear it

to add; (math.) plus; to increase; to augment; (used before a disyllabic verb, often after an adverb like 不[bu4], 大[da4], 稍[shao1] etc, to indicate that the action applies to sth previously mentioned, as in 稍加改良[shao1 jia1 gai3 liang2] "make some minor improvements to (it)")

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HSK 3.0
Level 2
Old HSK
Level 3
Strokes
5
Radical
力 +3
Structure
Left–right 左右
Traditional
加
Common rank
#121
Unicode
U+52A0

Sound it out + + =

Formation & memory

Break the character into parts you already know.

How 加 is formed

Ideographic compound (会意字)

Supporting a cause with the strength 力 of one's words 口

Components 力 口

How to remember it

add · Heisig RSH #749

muscle + 口 mouth

Keyword method from Heisig's Remembering Simplified Hanzi.

Words with 加

The most common words first — learning a character in context makes it stick.

WordPinyinMeaning
阿拉斯加大学 Ā lā sī jiā Dà xué University of Alaska
马拉加 Mǎ lā jiā Málaga, Spain; Malaga city in Iranian East Azerbaijan
特拉法尔加 Tè lā fǎ ěr jiā Trafalgar
不加 bù jiā without; not; un-
加大 jiā dà to increase (e.g. one's effort)
大加 dà jiā (before a two-syllable verb) considerably; greatly (exaggerate); vehemently (oppose); seve…
加国 Jiā guó Canada
加尔文 Jiā ěr wén Calvin (1509-1564), French protestant reformer
加州大学 Jiā zhōu Dà xué University of California (abbr. for 加利福尼亞大學|加利福尼亚大学[Jia1 li4 fu2 ni2 ya4 Da4 xue2])
阿拉斯加 Ā lā sī jiā Alaska, US state
文不加点 wén bù jiā diǎn to write a flawless essay in one go (idiom); to be quick-witted and skilled at writing com…
加拉加斯 Jiā lā jiā sī Caracas, capital of Venezuela
有加 yǒu jiā extremely (placed after verb or adjective)
加利西亚 Jiā lì xī yà Galicia, province and former kingdom of northwest Spain
加利利 Jiā lì lì Galilee (in biblical Palestine)
加上 jiā shàng to add; plus; in addition; moreover
加德西 jiā dé xī Gardasil (HPV vaccine)
加气 jiā qì to aerate; to ventilate
加西亚 Jiā xī yà Garcia (person name)
加分 jiā fēn bonus point; extra credit; to award bonus points; to earn extra points

Sound family

These characters use 加 as their sound component — compare how they read.

CharacterPinyinMeaning
加 sound part jiā to add to, to increase, to augment
架 jià frame, rack, stand; to prop up
驾 jià to drive, to ride, to sail; carriage, cart
嘉 jiā excellent; joyful; auspicious
咖 kā coffee; used in transliterations
伽 jiā temple; used to transliterations
茄 qié eggplant
迦 jiā used in transliterations
痂 jiā scab
枷 jiā the stocks, a cangue scaffold
瘸 qué lameness; paralysis of the hands or legs
跏 jiā to squat, to sit cross-legged
袈 jiā Buddhist cassock
笳 jiā reed whistle