Skip to main content

乾 | 干 | 幹: dry; male; to concern; capable

By September 16, 2015January 16th, 2017Chinese Word, Japanese Word, Language-Learning

 

乾[干] gān

adjective
: dry; dried food
: clean
: in vain
: foster; adoptive
: to ignore

乾[干] qián

noun
: one of the Eight Trigrams 八卦, symbolizing heaven (sky)
: male principle
: ☰ first symbol in the I Ching: “the Creative”

干 gān

verb
: to concern; to interfere
: shield
: stem

幹 [干] gàn

verb
: tree trunk
: main part of something
: to manage; to work; to do
: capable
: cadre
: to kill (slang)
: to fuck (vulgar)

Kun Reading

乾 OR 干 | ほし hoshi

noun | noun prefix
: drying; dried

乾す OR 干す | ほす hosu

godan verb with su ending | transitive verb
: to air; to dry; to desiccate
: to drain (off)
: to drink up
: to deprive of a role, job, etc. (usu. in the passive)

干る | ひる hiru

godan verb with su ending | transitive verb
: to dry

乾く | かわく kawaku

godan verb with ku ending | intransitive verb
: to get dry

乾せる | かせる kaseru

ichidan verb
: to dry up; to scab; to slough
: to be poisoned (with lacquer)
: (Archaism) to waste away

幹 | みき miki OR から kara

ichidan verb
: (tree) trunk; (arrow) shaft; (tool) handle; backbone; base

On Reading

乾 | けん ken

noun
: qian (one of the trigrams of the I Ching: heaven, northwest)

幹 | かん kan

noun
: (tree) trunk; (arrow) shaft; (tool) handle; backbone; base

 Usage:


乾[干] gan1: dry, clean (adjective)

乾淨[干净] gan1jing4: clean; neat
乾[干]脆 gan1cui4: straightforward; clear-cut; blunt (e.g. statement); you might as well; simply
乾[干]杯 gan1bei1: to drink a toast; Cheers! (proposing a toast) Here’s to you! Bottoms up! lit. dry cup
[乾杯 | かんぱい kanbai: toast; drink (in celebration or in honor of something)
: drinking one’s glass dry
: (Interjection) cheers]
乾媽 [干妈] gan1 ma1: godmother

乾爹 [干爹] gan1 die1: godfather
 
乾女兒 [干女儿] gan1 nü3 er2: adopted daughter; goddaughter
乾兒子 [干儿子] gan1 er2 zi5: adopted son; godson

乾[干]燥 gan1zao4: to dry (of weather, paint, cement etc); desiccation; dull; uninteresting; arid
[乾燥 | かんそう kansou: dryness; aridity; insipidity; dehydration; desiccation]

乾燥感 | かんそうかん kansoukan: dry, parched, or dehydrated feeling
乾燥肌 | かんそうはだ kansou hada: dry skin

乾[干]旱 gan1han4: drought; arid; dry
餅乾 [饼干] bing3gan1: biscuit; cracker; cookie
[乾パン | かんパン kanpan: cracker; hard biscuit; hardtack
OR
ビスケット bisuketto: cookie; biscuit]
包乾[干] bao1gan1: to have the full responsibility of a job; allocated task
吹乾[干] chui1gan1: to blow-dry
擦乾[干] ca1gan1: to wipe dry
晾乾[干] liang4gan1: to dry by the sun
葡萄乾 [葡萄干] pu2 tao5 gan1: raisin [乾葡萄 | ほしぶどう hoshibudou: raisin]
乾燥機 [干燥机] gan1zao4 ji1: drier
[乾燥機 | かんそうき: drying machine; dryer; desiccator]

衣類乾燥機 | いるいかんそうき irui kansouki: clothes dryer; clothes drier

乾[干] qian2: male, sky (noun)

乾[干]坤 qian2kun1: Heaven and earth; Yin and Yang; The Universe
[乾坤 | けんこん kenkon: heaven and earth; universe]
竺乾[干] zhu2qian2: Buddha (archaic); Dharma (the teachings of the Buddha)
乾[干]隆 qian2long2: Qianlong Emperor
Qianlong Emperor (25 September 1711 – 7 February 1799) was the sixth emperor of the Manchu-led Qing dynasty and the fourth Qing emperor to rule over China proper, princely title 宝亲王 bao3 qin1wang2. Born 弘历 Hong2li4, the fourth son of the Yongzheng Emperor, he reigned officially from 11 October 1735 to 8 February 1796 (unofficially until 1799). On 8 February, he abdicated in favor of his son, the Jiaqing Emperor – a filial act in order not to reign longer than his grandfather, the illustrious Kangxi Emperor. Despite his retirement, however, he retained ultimate power as a Retired Emperor until his death in 1799. Although his early years saw the continuation of an era of prosperity in China, his final years saw troubles at home and abroad converge on the Qing Empire. – wikipedia

干 gan1: to concern; stem (verb)

干擾[扰] gan1rao3: to disturb; to interfere; perturbation; interference (physics)
干涉 gan1she4: to interfere; to meddle; interference
干預[预] gan1yu4: to meddle; to intervene; intervention
干休 gan1xiu1: to let matters rest
干係[系] gan1xi4: responsibility
若干 ruo4gan1: a certain number or amount; how many?; how much?
[若干 | そくばく sokubaku OR じゃっかん jakkan: some; few; a number of; a little (bit)
: somewhat; to a certain extent
: many; a lot]
何干 he2gan1: what business?
十干 shi2gan1: same as 天干; the 10 heavenly stems 甲, 乙, 丙, 丁, 戊, 己, 庚, 辛, 壬, 癸 (used cyclically in the calendar and as ordinal number like Roman I, II, III)
[じっかん jikkan: the 10 calendar signs]
天干 tian1’gan1: the 10 heavenly stems 甲, 乙, 丙, 丁, 戊, 己, 庚, 辛, 壬, 癸, used cyclically in the calendar and as ordinal numbers I, II etc
[てんかん tenkan: celestial stems (10 signs of the Chinese calendar)]
射干 she4gan1: blackberry lily (Belamcanda chinensis); leopard lily
幹[干] gan4: tree trunk; to work (verb)

幹[干]部 gan4bu4: cadre; official; officer; manager
[幹部 | かんぶ kanbu: management; (executive) staff; leaders; leadership; top brass; upper echelons]
幹甚麼 [干什么] gan4 she2nme: what are you doing?; what’s he up to?
幹活兒[干活儿] gan4huo2 r: to work; manual labor
幹線 [干线] gan4xian4: main line; trunk line
[幹線 | かんせん kansen: main line; trunk line]

新幹線 [新干线] xin1 gan4 xian4: Japanese high-speed train
[新幹線 | しんかんせん shinkansen: Shinkansen; bullet train]

幹勁 [干劲] gan4jin4: enthusiasm for doing something
能幹[干] neng2gan4: capable; competent
骨幹[干] gu3gan4: diaphysis (long segment of a bone); fig. backbone
[骨幹 | こっかん kokkan: skeleton; structure; build]
才幹[干] cai2gan4: ability; competence
[才幹 | さいかん saikan: ability]
樹幹 [树干] shu4gan4: tree trunk
[樹幹 | じゅかん shukan: trunk; shaft]
苦幹[干] ku3gan4: to work hard



Japanese common word | expression | yojijukugo 四字熟語 | idiom
干乾し | ひぼし hiboshi: starving

乾坤一擲 |けんこんいってき kenkon itteki
: (yoji) stake all (on something); play for all or nothing; throwing all into a task

喉が乾く | のどがかわく nodogakawaku
: to be thirsty

乾きの早い | かわきのはやい kawaki no hayai
: fast drying (clothes)

無味乾燥 | むみかんそう mumikansou
: (yoji) dull and uninteresting; cut-and-dried

君の瞳に乾杯 | きみのひとみにかんぱい kimi no hitomi ni kanpai
: Here’s looking at you, kid; Here’s cheers to your eyes

舌の根も乾かぬうち | したのねもかわかぬうち shita no nemo kawaka nuuchi
: in the same breath; hardly had the words been said

役を干される | やくをほされる yaku o hosa reru
: to be deprived of one’s role; to have one’s livelihood taken away



Chinese expression | chengyu 成語 | idiom | proverb
吃乾飯 [吃干饭] chi1 gan1 fan4
: (coll.) to be incompetent; useless; good-for-nothing

乾淨俐落 [干净俐落] gan1 jing4 li4 luo4: clean and efficient; neat and tidy
OR
乾淨利落 [干净利落] gan1 jing4 li4 luo5: squeaky clean; neat and tidy; efficient

一乾二淨 [一干二净] yi1 gan1 er4 jing4
: thoroughly; completely; one and all; very clean

乳臭未乾 [乳臭未干] ru3 xiu4 wei4 gan1
: smell of mother’s milk not yet dried; immature and inexperienced; still wet behind the ears

洗手不幹 [洗手不干] xi3 shou3 bu4 gan4
: to totally stop doing something; to reform one’s ways

精明強幹 [精明强干] jing1 ming2 qiang2 gan4: intelligent and capable
OR
精明能幹 [精明能干] jing1 ming2 neng2 gan4: able and efficient

烈火乾柴 [烈火干柴] lie4 huo3 gan1 chai2
: lit. intense fire to dry wood; inferno in a woodpile; fig. consuming passion between lovers

口乾舌燥 [口干舌燥] kou3 gan1 she2 zao4
: lit. dry mouth and tongue; to talk too much

有何貴幹 [有何贵干] you3 he2 gui4 gan4
: What (noble errand) brings you here?; May I help you?; What can I do for you?

唾面自乾 [唾面自干] tuo4 mian4 zi4 gan1
: to be spat on in the face and let it dry by itself, not wiping it off; to turn the other cheek; to drain the cup of humiliation

朝乾夕惕 zhao1 qian2 xi1 ti4
: cautious and diligent all day long

埋頭苦幹 [埋头苦干] mai2 tou2 ku3 gan4
: to bury oneself in work; to be engrossed in work; to make an all-out effort; up to the neck in work

旋乾轉坤 [旋乾转坤] xuan2 qian2 zhuan3 kun1
: lit. overturning heaven and earth; earth-shattering; a radical change

手腳不乾淨 [手脚不干净] shou3 jiao3 bu4 gan1 jing4
: thieving; light-fingered; prone to stealing

不乾不淨,吃了沒病 [不干不净,吃了没病] bu4 gan1 bu4 jing4 , chi1 le5 mei2 bing4
: a little dirt never killed anybody (proverb); a couple of germs won’t do you any harm

化干戈為玉帛 [化干戈为玉帛] hua4 gan1 ge1 wei2 yu4 bo2
: lit. to exchange weapons of war for gifts of jade and silk; fig. to turn hostility into friendship

 Etymology:

形声 Pictophonetic.
乙 (yi3: second) suggests the meaning while
倝 (gan4: sunrise) provides the sound.




形声 Pictophonetic.
倝 (gan4: sunrise) suggests the meaning while
干 (gan1 | gan4: oppose; dried) provides the sound.



簡體 Simplified.
干. Created as unique simplification #72 (乾幹 » 干) via homophonic substitution.



Historical variant:
乹[干] gan1



 Examples:
つまのからせきがきになります tsuma no karaseki ga ki ni narimasu
妻の乾咳が気になります。
I’m concerned about my wife’s hacking cough.



明天有許多要幹的事情。
ming2tian1 you3 xu3duo1 yao1 gan1 de shi4qing2
I have a lot of work to do tomorrow.

Resources: Chinese Dictionary | Japanese Dictionary