盖 gài — cover, lid · English

盖

gài

cover, lid

At a glance · 盖

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Evolution of the glyph

Five stages, from a sketch of the real object to regular script — tap a stage, drag the timeline, or play the animation.

Object sketchBefore writing · drawing what was seen
Oracle boneShang dynasty · c. 1300–1046 BCE
Seal scriptQin dynasty · 221–206 BCE
Clerical scriptHan dynasty · 206 BCE–220 CE
Regular scriptWei–Jin to Tang · c. 3rd–9th century CE

Object sketchBefore writing · drawing what was seenOracle boneShang dynasty · c. 1300–1046 BCESeal scriptQin dynasty · 221–206 BCEClerical scriptHan dynasty · 206 BCE–220 CERegular scriptWei–Jin to Tang · c. 3rd–9th century CE

⚠ Some ancient forms are not attested：seal script form。No excavated oracle bone / seal artifact is attested for this character yet; we leave it blank rather than fabricate.

盖字小篆从艸盍声，为形声字；本义为覆盖、遮蔽，亦指器盖。甲骨文未见。

What the sketch shows

Origins & notes

盖本义为遮蔽、盖覆，引申为盖子。

Structure

形声字，上部『艸』为意符，下部『盍』为声符。

At a glance

Pinyingài

Radical皿

Strokes11

UnicodeU+76D6

Character type形声

Theme器物

Six languages, one character

Each page offers hreflang versions; switching language keeps the glyphs and meanings aligned.

English cover, lid Gai is a phonetic-semantic character meaning to cover and a lid.

Français couvrir, couvercle Gai est un caractère phonético-sémantique signifiant couvrir et couvercle.

Español cubrir, tapa Gai es un carácter fonosemántico que significa cubrir y tapa.

العربية يغطي، غطاء غاي حرف صوتي دلالي يعني التغطية والغطاء.

Русский крышка, покрывать Гай — фоносемантический знак, означающий покрывать и крышку.

Common words

盖子gài zilid
覆盖fù gàicover

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