革 Radical 177 — hide with the hair removed; leather, to reform
gé (second tone, rising)
hide with the hair removed; leather, to reform
Radical 1779 strokes0 characters
Where the shape comes from
An animal’s hide stretched flat on a frame to dry and cure, the head still recognisable at the top and the legs splayed at the sides — a skin caught mid-transformation from raw pelt into worked leather, which is how the character came to mean change itself, reform. It names the finished material in 皮革, leather, and the process in 改革, reform, and 革命, revolution, literally the changing of the mandate to rule.
characters filed under 革
No published character on HSK Guide is filed under this radical yet. Character explorer.