Dictionary › 甲

甲

jiǎ

HSK 5 Character

What 甲 means

1. first of the ten Heavenly Stems {十天干|shí tiān gān}
2. (used for an unspecified person or thing)
3. first (in a list, as a party to a contract etc)
4. letter "A" or roman "I" in list "A, B, C", or "I, II, III" etc
5. armor plating
6. shell or carapace
7. (of the fingers or toes) nail
8. bladed leather or metal armor (old)
9. ranking system used in the Imperial examinations (old)
10. civil administration unit in the baojia {保甲|bǎo jiǎ} system (old)
11. ancient Chinese compass point: 75°

Example sentences

• 我喜欢甲虫。
  I like beetles.
• 我的指甲断了。
  I broke a nail.
• 不要再咬指甲了。
  Bù yào zài yǎo zhǐjia le.
  Stop biting your nails.
• 桂林山水甲天下。
  Guìlín shānshuǐ jiǎ tiānxià.
  Guilin's sceneries are the most beautiful ones under the heaven.
• 她有咬指甲的习惯。
  Tā yǒu yǎo zhǐjia de xíguàn.
  She has a habit of biting her nails.
• 咬指甲是个坏习惯。
  Biting your fingernails is a bad habit.

Words starting with 甲

• 甲板jiǎ bǎndeck (of a ship or boat)
• 甲醛jiǎ quánformaldehyde (HCHO)
• 甲骨文jiǎ gǔ wénoracle script; oracle bone inscriptions (an early form of Chinese script)
• 甲方jiǎ fāngparty A (in a contract) (cf. 乙方
• 甲级jiǎ jífirst rate; top class; excellent
• 甲鱼jiǎ yúsoftshell turtle
• 甲午jiǎ wǔthirty-first year A7 of the 60 year cycle, e.g. 1954 or 2014
• 甲子jiǎ zǐfirst year of the sixty-year cycle…
• 甲申jiǎ shēn21st year A9 of the 60 year cycle, e.g. 2004 or 2064
• 甲壳jiǎ qiàocarapace; crust; outer shell
• 甲虫jiǎ chóngbeetle
• 甲亢jiǎ kànghyperthyroidism; abbr. for 甲状腺功能亢进
• 甲午战争Jiǎ wǔ Zhàn zhēngFirst Sino-Japanese War (1894-95)
• 甲骨jiǎ gǔtortoise shells and animal bones used for divination in the Shang Dynasty…
• 甲寅jiǎ yín51st year A3 of the 60 year cycle, e.g. 1974 or 2034
• 甲等jiǎ děnggrade A; first-class
• 甲型jiǎ xíngtype A; type I; alpha-
• 甲基jiǎ jīmethyl group (chemistry)
• 甲流jiǎ liútype A influenza (abbr. for 甲型流感; (in the context of the 2009 pandemic) H1N1 influenza
• 甲第jiǎ dìresidence of a noble; top candidate in the imperial examinations
• 甲氧基jiǎ yǎng jīmethoxy (chemistry)
• 甲氧西林jiǎ yǎng xī línmethicillin (a semisynthetic penicillin) (loanword)
• 甲申政变Jiǎ shēn zhèng biànunsuccessful and bloody Korean palace coup in 1884 by Westernisers against conservatives…
• 甲级战犯jiǎ jí zhàn fàna grade A war criminal

Words containing 甲

• 指甲zhǐ jiafingernail
• 马甲mǎ jiǎcorset; sockpuppet (Internet slang); vest (dialect)
• 装甲车zhuāng jiǎ chēarmored car
• 盔甲kuī jiǎarmor; body armor and helmet
• 装甲zhuāng jiǎvehicle armor
• 指甲油zhǐ jia yóunail polish
• 某甲mǒu jiǎsomebody; certain individual
• 铠甲kǎi jiǎarmor
• 花甲huā jiǎ60 years (of age); see 花蛤
• 铁甲tiě jiǎmail plating; armor; armor plating
• 马六甲Mǎ liù jiǎMalacca or Melaka (town and state in Malaysia), also strait between Malaysia and Sumatra
• 保甲bǎo jiǎhistorical communal administrative and self-defence system created during the Song…
• 意甲Yì JiǎSerie A, the top division of the Italian football league system
• 机甲jī jiǎmecha (human-operated robots in Japanese manga)
• 科甲kē jiǎimperial examinations
• 美甲měi jiǎmanicure and-or pedicure
• 衣甲yì jiǎarmor
• 西甲Xī JiǎLa Liga, the top division of the Spanish football league system
• 解甲jiě jiǎto remove armor; to return to civilian life
• 护甲hù jiǎarmor; bulletproof vest
• 象甲xiàng jiǎweevil; snout beetle
• 修指甲xiū zhǐ jiamanicure
• 前甲板qián jiǎ bǎnforward deck (of a boat)
• 后甲板hòu jiǎ bǎnafterdeck

Characters that look like 甲

Easy to confuse on sight. Compare them side by side once and the pair stops costing you.

• 田tiánfield; farm
• 由yóuto follow; from; because of; due to
• 申shēnto extend; to state; to explain
• 中zhōngwithin; among; in; middle; center; while (doing sth); during
• 节jiéjoint; node; (bound form) section; segment; solar term…
• 币bìmoney; coins; currency

Sounds the same

Read jiǎ, tone for tone, but written differently.

• 假fake; false; artificial
• 钾potassium (chemistry)
• 岬cape (geography); headland
• 胛shoulder blade
• 榎(evergreen shrub); Celtis sinensis
• 斝small jade cup with ears
• 槚Catalpa, a genus of mostly deciduous trees; old term for Camellia sinensis, the tea plant…
• 婽good
• 椵(grapefruit)
• 瘕obstruction in the intestine
• 嘏far; grand
• 贾surname Jia