阶 jiē — stairs · English

阶

jiē

stairs

At a glance · 阶

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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：oracle bone form、seal script form。No excavated oracle bone / seal artifact is attested for this character yet; we leave it blank rather than fabricate.

「阶」繁体「階」从阜皆声，小篆从𨸏階声，形声清晰。

What the sketch shows

Origins & notes

「阶」本义为台阶、阶梯，引申阶段、等级。

Structure

从阜、皆声，形声字，阜表土石义类，本为台阶。简作阶。

At a glance

Pinyinjiē

Radical阝

Strokes6

UnicodeU+9636

Character type形声

Theme建筑

Six languages, one character

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

English stairs stairs, steps; rank, degree

Français marche / degré Marche, degré. «升阶纳陛» : les marches.

Español escalón / grado Escalón, grado. «升阶纳陛»: los escalones.

العربية درجة / مرتبة درجة، مرتبة. «升阶纳陛»: الدرجات.

Русский ступень / ранг Ступень, ранг. «升阶纳陛»: ступени.

Common words

台阶tái jiēstep
阶段jiē duànstage

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