根 (gēn): root, base
根 (gēn) is a Chinese character meaning “root, base.” Classified as HSK Level 3 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of 木 (semantic) and 艮 (phonetic). It ranks #352 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).
Etymologically derived, 根 tree. Its radical form 木 (tree) appears in many related characters such as 本 (běn, (bound form) root), 机 (jī, machine, opportunity), 条 (tiáo, strip).
Definitions
- root, base
Etymology & Origin
Stroke Order
Practice writing 根 with real-time feedback — trace each stroke in the correct order and build muscle memory in the HanziFeed app.
Words & Compounds
HSK Vocabulary with 根
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | HSK |
|---|---|---|---|
| 根本noun/adjective/adverb | gēn běn | fundamental | 5 |
| 根据verb/preposition/noun | gēn jù | according to | 3 |
Common Compounds
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 摩根proper-noun | mó gēn | Morgan (name) |
| 阿根廷proper-noun | ā gēn tíng | Argentina |
| 培根noun | péi gēn | (loanword) bacon |
| 根源noun | gēn yuán | origin |
| 里根proper-noun | lǐ gēn | Reagan (name) |
| 压根儿 | yà gēn r | erhua variant of 壓根|压根 |
| 根号noun | gēn hào | radical sign √ (math.) |
| 命根子 | mìng gēn zi | see 命根 |
| 扎根verb | zhā gēn | to take root |
| 树根noun | shù gēn | tree roots |
| 生根verb | shēng gēn | to take root |
| 平方根 | píng fāng gēn | square root |
| 根基noun | gēn jī | foundation |
| 票根noun | piào gēn | ticket stub |
| 根除verb | gēn chú | to eradicate |
根 appears in 101 compound words: 25 as the first character, 67 as the last, and 8 in a middle position. Compound statistics computed from SUBTLEX-CH and HSK 3.0 vocabulary data.
Strongest Collocations
Characters that most frequently co-occur with 根 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.
Idioms & Chengyu (22)
lit. ears pure and peaceful (idiom); to stay away from the filth and unrest of the world
deep roots and vigorous foliage (idiom); (fig.) well established and growing strongly
synonym of 歸根結底 /归根结底 (guīgēnjiédǐ, “all in all; ultimately it comes down to”)
lit. cut grass and pull out roots (idiom); fig. to destroy root and branch; to eradicate
deep roots and vigorous foliage (idiom); (fig.) well established and growing strongly
Showing 12 of 22 idioms containing 根.
Example Sentences
这棵大树的根已经延伸到地下十米深的地方。
Zhè kē dàshù de gēn yǐjīng yánshēn dào dìxià shí mǐ shēn de dìfang.
The roots of this big tree have extended ten meters deep underground.
嘉义选情黄家班两样情 嘉市根基稳固、嘉县陷重整纷争
jiā yì xuǎn qíng huáng jiā bān liǎng yàng qíng jiā shì gēn jī wěn gù , jiā xiàn xiàn chóng zhěng fēn zhēng
Chiayi election situation Huang Jiaban two loves Jia City has a solid foundation, and Jia County is trapped in a reorganization dispute
摩根大通“1原因”关闭川普银行帐户
mó gēn dà tōng 1 yuán yīn guān bì chuān pǔ yín háng zhàng hù
JPMorgan Chase closed Trump's bank account for "1 reason"
...基层)山西洪洞大槐树:家庭亲子游成主流 根祖文化激活年俗新体验
. . . jī céng ) shān xī hóng dòng dà huái shù : jiā tíng qīn zǐ yóu chéng zhǔ liú gēn zǔ wén huà jī huó nián sú xīn tǐ yàn
... Grassroots) Hongdong Big Locust Tree in Shanxi: Family parent-child travel has become the mainstream, and the root ancestor culture activates a new experience of New Year's customs
独家/大年初二邻嫌吵狂砸门找碴 屋主:根本不在
dú jiā dà nián chū èr lín xián chǎo kuáng zá mén zhǎo 碴 wū zhǔ : gēn běn bù zài
Exclusive/On the second day of the Lunar New Year, the neighbor was noisy and smashed the door to find ballast Homeowner: Not at all
在浙江,看完电影票根别扔!可以当钱用
zài zhè jiāng , kàn wán diàn yǐng piào gēn bié rēng ! kě yǐ dāng qián yòng
In Zhejiang, don't throw away the ticket stubs after the movie! It can be used as money.
你将在箱根待多久？
Nǐ jiāng zài Xiānggēn dāi duōjiǔ?
How long will you stay in Hakone?
请问你可以给我根牙签吗？
Qǐngwèn nǐ kěyǐ gěi wǒ gēn yáqiān ma?
Could you give me a toothpick, please?
格罗宁根方言是方言还是语言？
Géluónínggēn fāngyán shì fāngyán háishi yǔyán?
Is Gronings a language or a dialect?
你介意我抽根烟吗？
Nǐ jièyì wǒ chōu gēn yān ma?
Do you mind if I smoke a cigarette?
Character Family
Homophones — Characters pronounced gēn
Frequently Asked Questions
What does 根 (gēn) mean in Chinese?
What's the difference between 根 and 很?
How many strokes does 根 have?
What is the radical of 根?
What are the components of 根?
What are common words containing 根?
What characters sound the same as 根 (gēn)?
Is 根 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
Practice writing 根 with real-time feedback
Trace stroke sequences, hear spoken pronunciation, and build lasting retention with spaced repetition in the HanziFeed app.