改
Tap the pinyin to hear it
to change; to alter; to transform; to correct
- HSK 3.0
- Level 2
- Old HSK
- Level 4
- Strokes
- 7
- Radical
- 攴 +3
- Structure
- Left–right 左右
- Traditional
- 改
- Common rank
- #604
- Unicode
- U+6539
Sound it out + =
Formation & memory
Break the character into parts you already know.
How 改 is formed
Ideographic compound (会意字)
A hand with a stick 攵 disciplining a kneeling child 己
How to remember it
alter · Heisig RSH #517
snake + taskmaster
Keyword method from Heisig's Remembering Simplified Hanzi.
Words with 改
The most common words first — learning a character in context makes it stick.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 面不改色 | (idiom) not bat an eyelid | |
| 改过自新 | to reform and start afresh (idiom); to turn over a new leaf | |
| 江山易改，本性难移 | it is easier to change mountains and rivers than to alter one's character (idiom); you can… | |
| 知过改过 | to acknowledge one's faults and correct them (idiom) | |
| 改水 | to improve water quality | |
| 改学 | to switch from one major or faculty to another (at a university) | |
| 改天 | another day; some other time; to find another day (for appointment etc); to take a rain ch… | |
| 改动 | to alter; to modify; to revise | |
| 改行 | to change profession | |
| 金改 | financial reform (abbr. for 金融改革[jin1 rong2 gai3 ge2]) | |
| 改口 | to change one's tune; to modify one's previous remark; to change the way one addresses sb … | |
| 改道 | to change route; to divert (a road or a watercourse) | |
| 改开 | reform and opening up (Chinese policy introduced in 1978) (abbr. for 改革開放|改革开放[gai3 ge2 ka… | |
| 改头换面 | to change outwardly while remaining essentially the same (derog.) (idiom); (Tw) (non-derog… | |
| 改日 | another day; some other day | |
| 改成 | to convert; to turn into (sth else); to adapt (a story to another medium) | |
| 国家发展和改革委员会 | PRC National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), formed in 2003 | |
| 改口费 | a gift of money given by parents on both sides after a wedding, to their new daughter-in-l… | |
| 改良主义 | reformism (i.e. favoring gradual change as opposed to revolution) | |
| 改名 | to rename |