漢字Kanji · in Tools & Weapons
化: change, take the form of
Also: influence, enchant, delude, -ization
亻 and 匕 carry the meaning
Four readings, and the words that use each
カka · on'yomi · in compounds
- 変化するへんかするchange [v.i.]
- 強化するきょうかするstrengthen
- 悪化するあっかするgrow worse
- 消化するしょうかするdigest
- 近代化するきんだいかするmodernize
- 映画化するえいがかするadapt (a book) to film
- 化学かがくchemistry
ケke · on'yomi
- 化粧品けしょうひんcosmetics
ばけるbakeru · kun'yomi · on its own
- 化けるばけるappear in disguise [v.i.]
- お化けおばけghost
ばかすbakasu · kun'yomi
- 化かすばかすbewitch [v.t.]
Also read ふける, けする, with no example words in our sources. Words: Kanji alive, CC BY 4.0.
Where it comes from
Origin · sourced
Ideogrammic compound (會意)
Ideogrammic compound (會意) of two 人 (“person”), one upright (亻) and one upside down (𠤎) – reversal; change. Shuowen also considers 𠤎 to be a phonetic component.
Source: Wiktionary, 化 (rev. 92720630), CC BY-SA 4.0
Memory story · made up to help you remember
“Person (人) + spoon (匕). Originally depicted a person turning or flipping over (like a spoon being turned), representing the act of transformation or "becoming" something else.”
Connections
In ChineseSame character in simplified and traditional · huà
Same form: 化 is written the same way in mainland China (simplified) and in Taiwan and Hong Kong (traditional).
- Simplified
- 化 mainland China, Singapore
- Traditional
- 化 Taiwan, Hong Kong
Pinyin huà most common reading
Forms and pinyin: Unicode Unihan database (Unicode License v3). Pinyin lists the most common reading, not every reading.