階

See also: 阶

階	U+968E, 階 CJK UNIFIED IDEOGRAPH-968E

← 隍
[U+968D]

CJK Unified Ideographs

随 →
[U+968F]

Translingual

Han character

階 (Kangxi radical 170, 阜+9, 12 strokes, cangjie input 弓中心心日 (NLPPA), four-corner 7126₁, composition ⿰阝皆)

Derived characters

𣾂

References

KangXi: page 1357, character 9

Dai Kanwa Jiten: character 41755

Dae Jaweon: page 1861, character 9

Hanyu Da Zidian (first edition): volume 6, page 4143, character 4

Unihan data for U+968E

Chinese

trad.		階
simp.		阶
alternative forms		堦／阶

Glyph origin

Historical forms of the character 階
Shuowen Jiezi (compiled in Han)	Liushutong (compiled in Ming)
Small seal script	Transcribed ancient scripts

Characters in the same phonetic series (皆) (Zhengzhang, 2003)

	Old Chinese
皆	*kriːl
偕	*kriːl
階	*kriːl
喈	*kriːl
稭	kriːl, kriːd
堦	*kriːl
楷	kriːl, kʰriːlʔ
鶛	*kriːl
湝	kriːl, ɡriːl
蝔	kriːl, ɡriːl
鍇	kriːl, kʰriːlʔ
揩	*kʰriːl
諧	*ɡriːl
瑎	*ɡriːl
龤	*ɡriːl

Phono-semantic compound (形聲, OC *kriːl) : semantic 阝 + phonetic 皆 (OC *kriːl).

Pronunciation

Mandarin
(Pinyin): jiē (jie¹)
(Zhuyin): ㄐㄧㄝ
Cantonese (Jyutping): gaai¹
Min Dong (BUC): gā̤ / găi
Min Nan
(Hokkien, POJ): kai
(Teochew, Peng'im): gai¹

Mandarin
- (Standard Chinese)⁺
  - Hanyu Pinyin: jiē
  - Zhuyin: ㄐㄧㄝ
  - Tongyong Pinyin: jie
  - Wade–Giles: chieh¹
  - Yale: jyē
  - Gwoyeu Romatzyh: jie
  - Palladius: цзе (cze)
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /t͡ɕjɛ⁵⁵/
Cantonese
- (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou)⁺
  - Jyutping: gaai¹
  - Yale: gāai
  - Cantonese Pinyin: gaai¹
  - Guangdong Romanization: gai¹
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /kaːi̯⁵⁵/
Min Dong
- (Fuzhou)
  - Bàng-uâ-cê: gā̤ / găi
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /kɛ³³/, /kai⁵⁵/
Min Nan
- (Hokkien)
  - Pe̍h-ōe-jī: kai
  - Tâi-lô: kai
  - Phofsit Daibuun: kay
  - IPA (Xiamen): /kai⁴⁴/
  - IPA (Quanzhou): /kai³³/
  - IPA (Zhangzhou): /kai⁴⁴/
  - IPA (Taipei): /kai⁴⁴/
  - IPA (Kaohsiung): /kai⁴⁴/
- (Teochew)
  - Peng'im: gai¹
  - Pe̍h-ōe-jī-like: kai
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /kai³³/

Middle Chinese: /kˠɛi/

Rime
Character	階
Reading #	1/1
Initial (聲)	見 (28)
Final (韻)	皆 (33)
Tone (調)	Level (Ø)
Openness (開合)	Open
Division (等)	II
Fanqie	古諧切
Reconstructions
Zhengzhang Shangfang	/kˠɛi/
Pan Wuyun	/kᵚæi/
Shao Rongfen	/kɐi/
Edwin Pulleyblank	/kəɨj/
Li Rong	/kɛi/
Wang Li	/kɐi/
Bernard Karlgren	/kăi/
Expected Mandarin Reflex	jiē
Expected Cantonese Reflex	gaai¹

Old Chinese
(Baxter–Sagart): /*kˤrij/
(Zhengzhang): /*kriːl/

Baxter–Sagart system 1.1 (2014)
Character	階
Reading #	1/1
Modern Beijing (Pinyin)	jiē
Middle Chinese	‹ kɛj ›
Old Chinese	/*kˁrij/
English	steps, stairs
Notes for Old Chinese notations in the Baxter–Sagart system: * Parentheses "()" indicate uncertain presence; * Square brackets "[]" indicate uncertain identity, e.g. [t] as coda may in fact be -t or -p; Angle brackets "<>" indicate infix; * Hyphen "-" indicates morpheme boundary; * Period "." indicates syllable boundary.

Zhengzhang system (2003)
Character	階
Reading #	1/1
No.	6417
Phonetic component	皆
Rime group	脂
Rime subdivision	1
Corresponding MC rime	皆
Old Chinese	/*kriːl/

Definitions

階

stair; step
階梯／阶梯 ― jiētī ― staircase
- 夫不違，乃違也。夫不違，亡之階也。 [Classical Chinese, trad.]
  夫不违，乃违也。夫不违，亡之阶也。 [Classical Chinese, simp.]
  From: Guoyu, circa 4^th century BCE
  Fú bùwéi, nǎi wéi yě. Fú bùwéi, wáng zhī jiē yě. [Pinyin]
  They never go against you, which is indeed their way of betraying you. Their unconditional compliance is the stepstone to you ruin.
(figurative) rank; degree; level; seniority; order of precedence
官階／官阶 ― guānjiē ― rank of an official
進階中文課／进阶中文课 ― jìnjiē zhōngwén kè ― advanced(-level) course in Chinese
(figurative) phase; stage (serially-ordered division of time, level of completion, etc.)
階段／阶段 ― jiēduàn ― stage
(music) scale
五聲音階／五声音阶 ― wǔshēngyīnjiē ― pentatonic scale
(mathematics) order; degree (quantity signifying various concepts in mathematics, chiefly integer-valued)
二階微分方程／二阶微分方程 ― èrjiē wēifēnfāngchéng ― second-order differential equation
1. (graph theory) the number of vertices in a graph
  - 顯然任何n階圖是一個n部圖。 [MSC, trad.]
    显然任何n阶图是一个n部图。 [MSC, simp.]
    From: 2012, Xiong Bin and Zheng Zhongyi, Graph Theory, page 18
    Xiǎnrán rènhé n jiē tú shì yīge n bù tú. [Pinyin]
    Evidently, every n-vertex graph is an n-partite graph.
a surname

Compounds

Derived terms from 階

一階半級／一阶半级
一階半職／一阶半职
三階／三阶
三階佛法／三阶佛法
三階教／三阶教
下層階級／下层阶级
下臺階／下台阶 (xià táijiē)
中產階級／中产阶级 (zhōngchǎn jiējí)
亂階／乱阶
位階／位阶
低階／低阶 (dījiē)
初階／初阶
半音階／半音阶 (bànyīnjiē)
厲階／厉阶
土階茅屋／土阶茅屋
土階茅茨／土阶茅茨
堯階蓂莢／尧阶蓂荚
大音階／大音阶 (dàyīnjiē)
太階／太阶
官階／官阶 (guānjiē)
小音階／小音阶 (xiǎoyīnjiē)
工商階級／工商阶级
巧不可階／巧不可阶
平臺階段／平台阶段
循階／循阶
找臺階／找台阶
找臺階下／找台阶下
日轉千階／日转千阶
晉階／晋阶

月地雲階／月地云阶
有產階級／有产阶级 (yǒuchǎn jiējí)
木階／木阶
東階／东阶
河階／河阶
沿階草／沿阶草
泰階／泰阶
泰階平／泰阶平
海平階／海平阶
無產階級／无产阶级 (wúchǎn jiējí)
玉階／玉阶
玉階怨／玉阶怨
現階段／现阶段
瑤階／瑶阶
白領階級／白领阶级
知識階級／知识阶级 (zhīshi jiējí)
石階／石阶 (shíjiē)
社會階級／社会阶级 (shèhuì jiējí)
禍作福階／祸作福阶
臺階／台阶 (táijiē)
茅室土階／茅室土阶
茅茨土階／茅茨土阶
藍領階級／蓝领阶级
螺階／螺阶
西階／西阶
資產階級／资产阶级 (zīchǎn jiējí)
超階越次／超阶越次
躇階／躇阶

軍階／军阶 (jūnjiē)
連階累任／连阶累任
進身之階／进身之阶
進階／进阶 (jìnjiē)
阼階／阼阶
降階／降阶
階下／阶下 (jiēxià)
階下囚／阶下囚 (jiēxiàqiú)
階乘／阶乘 (jiēchéng)
階層／阶层 (jiēcéng)
階心／阶心
階梯／阶梯 (jiētī)
階段／阶段 (jiēduàn)
階砌／阶砌
階級／阶级 (jiējí)
階級意識／阶级意识
階級敵人／阶级敌人
階級矛盾／阶级矛盾
階級鬥爭／阶级斗争 (jiējí dòuzhēng)
階緣／阶缘
階進／阶进
階陛／阶陛
階除／阶除
雲階月地／云阶月地
音階／音阶 (yīnjiē)
高階／高阶 (gāojiē)
高階層／高阶层
高階語言／高阶语言 (gāojiē yǔyán)

Descendants

Sino-Xenic (階):

→ Japanese: 階(かい) (kai)

References

“階”, in 漢語多功能字庫 (Multi-function Chinese Character Database)‎, 香港中文大學 (the Chinese University of Hong Kong), 2014–

Japanese

Kanji

階

(grade 3 “Kyōiku” kanji)

storey; story; floor

Readings

Go-on: け (ke)
Kan-on: かい (kai, Jōyō)
Kun: きざはし (kizahashi, 階); はしご (hashigo, 階); しな (shina, 階)

Etymology

Kanji in this term
階
かい Grade: 3
on’yomi

From Middle Chinese 階 (MC kˠɛi).

Pronunciation

On’yomi

IPA^(key): [ka̠i]

Affix

階(かい) • (kai)

step; stair; storey
class; rank; level

Counter

階(かい) • (-kai)

floors, storeys (of a building)
（私(わたし)の）オフィスは五(ご)階(かい)にあります。
(watashi no) ofisu wa go-kai ni arimasu.
(My) office is on the fifth floor.

Korean

Hanja

階 (eumhun 섬돌 계 (seomdol gye))

Hanja form^? of 계 (“steps, stairs”).
Hanja form^? of 계 (“rank, degree”).

Vietnamese

Han character

階: Hán Nôm readings: giai

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