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Definition 2025

還

還

See also: 还

Translingual

Han character

還 (radical 162 辵+13, 17 strokes, cangjie input 卜田中女 (YWLV), four-corner 36303, composition ⿺辶睘)

References

  • KangXi: page 1266, character 23
  • Dai Kanwa Jiten: character 39174
  • Dae Jaweon: page 1764, character 12
  • Hanyu Da Zidian: volume 6, page 3888, character 2
  • Unihan data for U+9084

Chinese

trad. 還
simp. 还

Glyph origin

Historical forms of the character 還
Bronze inscriptions Bamboo and silk script Large seal script Small seal script
Characters in the same phonetic series (睘) (Zhengzhang, 2003) 
Old Chinese
癏 *kʷraːn
擐 *kʷraːn, *ɡʷraːns
還 *ɡʷraːn, *sɢʷan
環 *ɡʷraːn
鬟 *ɡʷraːn
寰 *ɡʷraːn, *ɡʷeːns
闤 *ɡʷraːn
糫 *ɡʷraːn
圜 *ɡʷraːn, *ɡʷen
鐶 *ɡʷraːn
轘 *ɡʷraːn, *ɡʷraːns
澴 *ɡʷraːn
繯 *ɡʷraːns, *ɡʷeːnʔ
檈 *sɢʷan, *sɢʷin
儇 *qʰʷen
翾 *qʰʷen
蠉 *qʰʷen, *qʰʷenʔ
嬛 *qʰʷen, *qʷen, *ɡʷeŋ
譞 *qʰʷen
懁 *kʷeːns
獧 *kʷeːns
噮 *qʷeːns
彋 *ɡʷreːŋ, *ɡʷreːŋ
睘 *ɡʷeŋ

Phono-semantic compound (形聲, OC *ɡʷraːn, *sɢʷan) : semantic 辵 ‎(“walk”) + phonetic 睘 ‎(OC *ɡʷeŋ) – to go back; to return.

Pronunciation 1

  • Dialectal data▼
Variety Location 還
Mandarin Beijing /xuan³⁵/
Harbin /xuan²⁴/
Tianjin /xuan⁴⁵/ ～原
Jinan /xuã⁴²/
Qingdao /xuã⁴²/
Zhengzhou /xuan⁴²/
Xi'an /xuã²⁴/
Xining /xuã²⁴/
Yinchuan /xuan⁵³/ 归～
Lanzhou /xuɛ̃n⁵³/
Ürümqi /xuan⁵¹/
Wuhan /xuan²¹³/
Chengdu /xuan³¹/
Guiyang /xuan²¹/ 歸～
Kunming /xuã̠³¹/
Nanjing /xuaŋ²⁴/
Hefei /xuæ̃⁵⁵/
Jin Taiyuan /xuæ̃¹¹/
Pingyao /xuɑŋ¹³/
Hohhot /xuæ̃³¹/ ～東西
Wu Shanghai /ɦue²³/
Suzhou /ɦue̞¹³/
Hangzhou /ɦuõ²¹³/
Wenzhou /va³¹/
Hui Shexian /xuɛ⁴⁴/ 歸～
Tunxi /uɛ⁴⁴/ 歸～
Xiang Changsha /fan¹³/ ～價
Xiangtan /ɸan¹²/
Gan Nanchang /uan⁴⁵/ 有借有～
/fan⁴⁵/ ～原
Hakka Meixian /fan¹¹/ ～原
Taoyuan /hɑn¹¹/
Cantonese Guangzhou /wan²¹/
Nanning /wan²¹/
Hong Kong /wan²¹/
Min Xiamen (Min Nan) /huan³⁵/
/hãi³⁵/
Fuzhou (Min Dong) /huaŋ⁵³/
Jian'ou (Min Bei) /xiŋ³³/
/uiŋ²¹/
Shantou (Min Nan) /huaŋ⁵⁵/
/hõi⁵⁵/
Haikou (Min Nan) /huaŋ³¹/
Rime
Character 還 還
Reading # 1/2 2/2
Initial (聲) 匣 (33) 邪 (17)
Final (韻) 刪 (70) 仙 (78)
Tone (調) Level (Ø) Level (Ø)
Openness (開合) Closed Closed
Division (等) II III
Fanqie 戸關切 似宣切
Reconstructions
Zhengzhang
Shangfang		 /ɦˠuan/ /ziuᴇn/
Pan
Wuyun		 /ɦʷᵚan/ /zʷiɛn/
Shao
Rongfen		 /ɣuɐn/ /zjuæn/
Edwin
Pulleyblank		 /ɦwaɨn/ /zwian/
Li
Rong		 /ɣuan/ /ziuɛn/
Wang
Li		 /ɣwan/ /zĭwɛn/
Bernard
Karlgren		 /ɣwan/ /zi̯wɛn/
Expected
Mandarin
Reflex		 huán xuán
Baxter-Sagart system 1.1 (2014)
Character 還 還
Reading # 1/2 2/2
Modern
Beijing
(Pinyin)		 huán xuán
Middle
Chinese		 ‹ hwæn › ‹ zjwen ›
Old
Chinese		 /*[ɢ]ʷˤ<r>en/ /*s-ɢʷen/
English turn around; return turn around, return; agile

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 還 還
Reading # 1/2 2/2
No. 16230 16244
Phonetic
component		 睘 睘
Rime
group		 元 元
Rime
subdivision		 1 1
Corresponding
MC rime		 還 旋
Old
Chinese		 /*ɡʷraːn/ /*sɢʷan/

Definitions

還

  1. to return to a place; to go back to a place
    還家 / 还家  ―  huánjiā  ―  to return home
    還鄉 / 还乡  ―  huánxiāng  ―  to return to one's hometown
    還原 / 还原  ―  huányuán  ―  to return to the original state, [chemistry] to reduce
    還俗 / 还俗  ―  huánsú  ―  to resume secular life
  2. to return an object; to give back
    償還 / 偿还  ―  chánghuán  ―  to reimburse
    還書 / 还书  ―  huánshū  ―  to return the books (to the library)
    欠錢不還 / 欠钱不还  ―  qiàn qián bù huán  ―  to owe money (without the intention of paying back)
    把我的手機還給我。 [MSC, trad.]
    把我的手机还给我。 [MSC, simp.]
    Bǎ wǒ de shǒujī huán gěi wǒ. [Pinyin]
    Give my mobile back to me.
  3. to do or give something in return
    還嘴 / 还嘴  ―  huánzuǐ  ―  to retort
    還手 / 还手  ―  huánshǒu  ―  to hit back
    還禮 / 还礼  ―  huánlǐ  ―  to present a gift in return
    還擊 / 还击  ―  huánjī  ―  to fight back
    還價 / 还价  ―  huánjià  ―  to make a counter-offer buying price
    以眼還眼，以牙還牙 [MSC, trad.]
    以眼还眼，以牙还牙 [MSC, simp.]
    yǐ yǎn huán yǎn, yǐ yá huán yá [Pinyin]
    [literally] an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth; tit for tat
  4. A surname​.

Compounds

Pronunciation 2

  • Dialectal data▼
Variety Location 還
Mandarin Beijing /xai³⁵/
Harbin /xai⁵³/
/xai²⁴/
Tianjin /xai⁴⁵/ ～有
Jinan
Qingdao
Zhengzhou
Xi'an
Xining
Yinchuan
Lanzhou /xɛ̃n⁵³/
Ürümqi
Wuhan
Chengdu
Guiyang /xai²¹/ ～是
Kunming
Nanjing /xae²⁴/
Hefei
Jin Taiyuan
Pingyao
Hohhot /xæ̃³¹/ ～不走
Wu Shanghai /ɦe²³/
Suzhou
Hangzhou
Wenzhou
Hui Shexian /uɛ⁴⁴/ ～有
Tunxi /uːə⁴⁴/ ～要
Xiang Changsha /xai¹³/ 副詞
Xiangtan
Gan Nanchang
Hakka Meixian /han¹¹/ ～有
Taoyuan
Cantonese Guangzhou
Nanning
Hong Kong
Min Xiamen (Min Nan)
Fuzhou (Min Dong)
Jian'ou (Min Bei)
Shantou (Min Nan)
Haikou (Min Nan)

Definitions

還

  1. still; yet; indicates that the phenomenon or observation still exists or the action is still ongoing
    他還沒來。 / 他还没来。  ―  Tā hái méi lái.  ―  He hasn't come yet.
    你怎麼還沒到？ / 你怎么还没到？  ―  Nǐ zěnme hái méi dào?  ―  Why are you still not here?
    十點了，他還在工作。 [MSC, trad.]
    十点了，他还在工作。 [MSC, simp.]
    Shí diǎn le, tā hái zài gōngzuò. [Pinyin]
    It's ten o'clock already and he is still working.
    幾年不見，她還是那麼漂亮。 [MSC, trad.]
    几年不见，她还是那么漂亮。 [MSC, simp.]
    Jǐ nián bù jiàn, tā hái shì nàme piàoliàng. [Pinyin]
    She is still very beautiful after all these years.
  2. even more; indicates an increase from a certain level or a supplement
    今年比去年還冷。 / 今年比去年还冷。  ―  Jīnnián bǐ qùnián hái lěng.  ―  This year is even colder than last year.
    考試完還要上課。 / 考试完还要上课。  ―  Kǎoshì wán hái yào shàngkè.  ―  (I) still have classes after the exams.
    他賠了一大筆錢，還丟了工作。 [MSC, trad.]
    他赔了一大笔钱，还丢了工作。 [MSC, simp.]
    Tā péi le yī dà bǐ qián, hái diū le gōngzuò. [Pinyin]
    He lost a lot of money and even his job.
  3. (before adjectives, mostly positive) passably; (surprisingly) quite
    我的成績還可以。 / 我的成绩还可以。  ―  Wǒ de chéngjī hái kěyǐ.  ―  I have a passable grade.
    屋子不大，收拾得倒還乾淨。 [MSC, trad.]
    屋子不大，收拾得倒还干净。 [MSC, simp.]
    Wūzi bù dà, shōushi dé dǎo hái qiánjìng. [Pinyin]
    It's quite clean for such a small room.
    孩子不大，還挺懂事的。 [MSC, trad.]
    孩子不大，还挺懂事的。 [MSC, simp.]
    Háizi bù dà, hái tǐng dǒngshì de. [Pinyin]
    The small kid is surprisingly quite sensible.
    這蛋糕還挺好吃的。 [MSC, trad.]
    这蛋糕还挺好吃的。 [MSC, simp.]
    Zhè dàngāo hái tǐng hǎochī de. [Pinyin]
    That was a pretty tasty cake.
  4. (often in rhetorical questions) indicates condition and contrast, interchangeable with 都; even
    你還搬不動，何況我呢？ [MSC, trad.]
    你还搬不动，何况我呢？ [MSC, simp.]
    Nǐ hái bān bù dòng, hékuàng wǒ ne? [Pinyin]
    Even you can't move it, let alone me.
  5. indicates unexpectedness; really
    他還真有辦法。 / 他还真有办法。  ―  Tā hái zhēn yǒu bànfǎ.  ―  Surprisingly he has a way to do this.
  6. indicates past events; emphasising earliness
    還在幾年以前，我們就研究過這個方案。 [MSC, trad.]
    还在几年以前，我们就研究过这个方案。 [MSC, simp.]
    Hái zài jǐ nián yǐqián, wǒmen jiù yánjiū guò zhège fāng'àn. [Pinyin]
    The proposal has been studied by us a couple of years ago (and now you made the suggestion to study it).

Compounds

Japanese

Kanji

還

(common “Jōyō” kanji)

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Readings

Korean

Hanja

還 • ‎(hwan, seon) (hangeul 환, 선, McCune-Reischauer hwan, sŏn, Yale hwan, sen)

  1. This term needs a translation to English. Please help out and add a translation, then remove the text {{rfdef}}.

Vietnamese

Han character

還 (hoàn)

  1. This term needs a translation to English. Please help out and add a translation, then remove the text {{rfdef}}.

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