甘

甘	U+7518, 甘 CJK UNIFIED IDEOGRAPH-7518

← 甗
[U+7517]

CJK Unified Ideographs

甙 →
[U+7519]

⽢	U+2F62, ⽢ KANGXI RADICAL SWEET

← ⽡
[U+2F61]

Kangxi Radicals

⽣ →
[U+2F63]

Translingual

Stroke order

Han character

甘 (Kangxi radical 99, 甘+0, 5 strokes, cangjie input 廿一 (TM), four-corner 4477₀, composition ⿻廿一)

Kangxi radical #99, ⽢.

Derived characters

Appendix:Chinese radical/甘
邯, 䲺, 某, 䗣, 苷, 䇞, 雸, 疳
佄, 咁, 坩, 姏, 㤌, 拑, 泔, 柑, 㶰, 玵, 粓, 紺(绀), 蚶, 詌(𬣠), 酣, 鉗(钳), 魽(𫠐), 黚

Additional Derived Characters

𡶑, 𭚩, 𭤭, 𦚕, 𭾧, 𥑠, 𥞈, 𥩩, 𦕐, 𧣑, 𧮳, 𧵊(𬥴), 𫏄, 𨱫, 𫥕, 𭉀, 𤊼, 𫺦, 𩖺, 𩚵(𩠁), 𩢨, 𫴐, 𪖟, 𪗳(𬹾)
𣢟, 𢎌, 𨚠, 𠤔, 𭇐, 𭓣, 𥞌, 𩬚, 𬓶, 𪏽, 𢇾, 𨳼

References

Kangxi Dictionary: page 753, character 19
Dai Kanwa Jiten: character 21643
Dae Jaweon: page 1161, character 1
Hanyu Da Zidian (first edition): volume 4, page 2413, character 1
Unihan data for U+7518

Chinese

simp. and trad.		甘
alternative forms		𠙿𠁿𠮚𤮺𠙸𠙿𠁿𠮚𤮺𠙸𭺪𭺫㤌

Glyph origin

Historical forms of the character 甘
Shang	Western Zhou	Shuowen Jiezi (compiled in Han)	Liushutong (compiled in Ming)
Oracle bone script	Bronze inscriptions	Small seal script	Transcribed ancient scripts

Characters in the same phonetic series () (Zhengzhang, 2003)

	Old Chinese
紺	*kɯːms
姏	*mɡaːm
嵌	sɡaːmʔ, kʰraːm
甘	*kaːm
柑	*kaːm
苷	*kaːm
泔	*kaːm
坩	kaːm, kʰaːm
蚶	ɢaːm, ɢaːm
酣	*ɢaːm
甝	*ɢaːm
魽	*ɢaːm
邯	ɡaːm, ɡaːm
鉗	*ɡram
箝	*ɡram
黚	ɡram, ɡrɯm
拑	*ɡram

Ideogram (指事) – something (perhaps sweet) in an open mouth; the original drawing is 𠁿. Original form of 含. See also 敢, 旨, 香, and 音.

Etymology

From Proto-Sino-Tibetan *s-klum (“sweet”) (Schuessler, 2007; STEDT). Cognate with Mizo thlum, Lepcha [script needed] (khlyam).

Possibly related to 含 (OC *ɡɯːm, “to keep in mouth”) and 甜 (OC *l'iːm, “sweet”), 柑 (MC kam, “mandarin orange”) (Schuessler, 2007).

Pronunciation

Mandarin
(Standard)
(Pinyin): gān (gan¹)

(Zhuyin): ㄍㄢ

(Chengdu, Sichuanese Pinyin): gan¹

(Xi'an, Guanzhong Pinyin): gǎn

(Dungan, Cyrillic and Wiktionary): ган (gan, I)
Cantonese
(Guangzhou–Hong Kong, Jyutping): gam¹

(Taishan, Wiktionary): gam¹
Gan (Wiktionary): gon¹
Hakka
(Sixian, PFS): kâm

(Hailu, HRS): gam^ˋ

(Meixian, Guangdong): gam¹
Jin (Wiktionary): gan¹
Northern Min (KCR): gó̤ng
Eastern Min (BUC): găng
Puxian Min (Pouseng Ping'ing): gang¹
Southern Min
(Hokkien, POJ): kam / kaⁿ

(Teochew, Peng'im): gam¹
Wu (Shanghai, Wugniu): ¹koe
Xiang (Changsha, Wiktionary): gan¹

Mandarin
- (Standard Chinese)⁺
  - Hanyu Pinyin: gān
  - Zhuyin: ㄍㄢ
  - Tongyong Pinyin: gan
  - Wade–Giles: kan¹
  - Yale: gān
  - Gwoyeu Romatzyh: gan
  - Palladius: гань (ganʹ)
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /kän⁵⁵/
- (Chengdu)
  - Sichuanese Pinyin: gan¹
  - Scuanxua Ladinxua Xin Wenz: gan
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /kan⁵⁵/
- (Xi'an)
  - Guanzhong Pinyin: gǎn
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /kã²¹/
- (Dungan)
  - Cyrillic and Wiktionary: ган (gan, I)
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /kæ̃²⁴/
  (Note: Dungan pronunciation is currently experimental and may be inaccurate.)
Cantonese
- (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)
  - Jyutping: gam¹
  - Yale: gām
  - Cantonese Pinyin: gam¹
  - Guangdong Romanization: gem¹
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /kɐm⁵⁵/
- (Taishanese, Taicheng)
  - Wiktionary: gam¹
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /kam³³/
Gan
- (Nanchang)
  - Wiktionary: gon¹
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /kɵn⁴²/
Hakka
- (Sixian, incl. Miaoli and Neipu)
  - Pha̍k-fa-sṳ: kâm
  - Hakka Romanization System: gam^ˊ
  - Hagfa Pinyim: gam¹
  - Sinological IPA: /kam²⁴/
- (Hailu, incl. Zhudong)
  - Hakka Romanization System: gam^ˋ
  - Sinological IPA: /kam⁵³/
- (Meixian)
  - Guangdong: gam¹
  - Sinological IPA: /kam⁴⁴/
Jin
- (Taiyuan)⁺
  - Wiktionary: gan¹
  - Sinological IPA (old-style): /kæ̃¹¹/
Northern Min
- (Jian'ou)
  - Kienning Colloquial Romanized: gó̤ng
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /kɔŋ⁵⁴/
Eastern Min
- (Fuzhou)
  - Bàng-uâ-cê: găng
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /kaŋ⁵⁵/
Puxian Min
- (Putian)
  - Pouseng Ping'ing: gang¹
  - Báⁿ-uā-ci̍: gang
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /kaŋ⁵³³/
- (Xianyou)
  - Pouseng Ping'ing: gang¹
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /kaŋ⁵⁴⁴/
Southern Min
- (Hokkien: Xiamen, Quanzhou, Zhangzhou, General Taiwanese)
  - Pe̍h-ōe-jī: kam
  - Tâi-lô: kam
  - Phofsit Daibuun: kafm
  - IPA (Quanzhou): /kam³³/
  - IPA (Xiamen, Zhangzhou, Taipei, Kaohsiung): /kam⁴⁴/
- (Hokkien: Xiamen)
  - Pe̍h-ōe-jī: kaⁿ
  - Tâi-lô: kann
  - Phofsit Daibuun: kvaf
  - IPA (Xiamen): /kã⁴⁴/

Note:

kam - literary;
kaⁿ - vernacular.

(Teochew)
- Peng'im: gam¹
- Pe̍h-ōe-jī-like: kam
- Sinological IPA ^(key): /kam³³/

Wu
- (Northern: Shanghai)
  - Wugniu: ¹koe
  - MiniDict: koe^平
  - Wiktionary Romanisation (Shanghai): ¹koe
  - Sinological IPA (Shanghai): /kø⁵³/
Xiang
- (Changsha)
  - Wiktionary: gan¹
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /kan³³/

Middle Chinese: kam

Rime
Character	甘
Reading #	1/1
Initial (聲)	見 (28)
Final (韻)	談 (143)
Tone (調)	Level (Ø)
Openness (開合)	Open
Division (等)	I
Fanqie	古三切
Baxter	kam
Reconstructions
Zhengzhang Shangfang	/kɑm/
Pan Wuyun	/kɑm/
Shao Rongfen	/kɑm/
Edwin Pulleyblank	/kam/
Li Rong	/kɑm/
Wang Li	/kɑm/
Bernhard Karlgren	/kɑm/
Expected Mandarin Reflex	gān
Expected Cantonese Reflex	gam¹

Old Chinese
(Baxter–Sagart): /*[k]ˤ[a]m/

(Zhengzhang): /*kaːm/

Baxter–Sagart system 1.1 (2014)
Character	甘
Reading #	1/1
Modern Beijing (Pinyin)	gān
Middle Chinese	‹ kam ›
Old Chinese	/*[k]ˁ[a]m/
English	sweet
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	甘
Reading #	1/1
No.	3652
Phonetic component
Rime group	談
Rime subdivision	1
Corresponding MC rime
Old Chinese	/*kaːm/

Definitions

甘

sweet
甘甜 ― gāntián ― sweet

甘蔗 ― gānzhe ― sugar cane
pleasant; satisfactory
willingly; readily
甘心 ― gānxīn ― to be willing to

甘願／甘愿 ― gānyuàn ― willingly
(Cantonese, ironic) bitter; difficult to bear
Alternative form: 金 (gam¹)

輸到好甘／输到好甘 [Cantonese] ― syu¹ dou³ hou² gam¹ [Jyutping] ― to lose tremendously

畀人𨃩鑊甘／畀人𨃩镬甘 [Cantonese] ― bei² jan⁴ sin³ wok⁶ gam¹ [Jyutping] ― (please add an English translation of this usage example)

鑊鑊新鮮鑊鑊甘 [Cantonese, trad.]
镬镬新鲜镬镬甘 [Cantonese, simp.]
wok⁶ wok⁶ san¹ sin¹ wok⁶ wok⁶ gam¹ [Jyutping]
(please add an English translation of this usage example)
a surname
甘寧／甘宁 ― Gān Níng ― Gan Ning (military general serving under Sun Quan in the late Eastern Han dynasty)
short for 甘肅／甘肃 (Gānsù, “Gansu”)
Synonym: 隴 / 陇 (lǒng)

Synonyms

(sweet):

Dialectal synonyms of 甜 (“sweet”) [map]

Variety	Location	Words edit
Classical Chinese		甘, 甜
Formal (Written Standard Chinese)		甜
Northeastern Mandarin	Chengde	甜
	Chifeng	甜
	Hulunbuir (Hailar)	甜
	Heihe	甜
	Qiqihar	甜
	Harbin	甜
	Jiamusi	甜
	Baicheng	甜
	Changchun	甜
	Tonghua	甜
	Shenyang	甜
	Jinzhou	甜
	Singapore	甜
Jilu Mandarin	Tianjin	甜
	Tangshan	甜
	Cangzhou	甜
	Baoding	甜
	Shijiazhuang	甜
	Lijin	甜
	Jinan	甜
Jiaoliao Mandarin	Dalian	甜
	Dandong	甜
	Yantai	甜
	Yantai (Muping)	甜
	Qingdao	甜
	Zhucheng	甜
Central Plains Mandarin	Luoyang	甜
	Lingbao	甜
	Jining	甜
	Wanrong	甜
	Linfen	甜
	Shangqiu	甜
	Yuanyang	甜
	Zhengzhou	甜
	Xinyang	甜
	Baihe	甜
	Xi'an	甜
	Baoji	甜
	Tianshui	甜
	Xining	甜
	Xuzhou	甜
	Fuyang	甜
Lanyin Mandarin	Yinchuan	甜
	Lanzhou	甜
	Dunhuang	甜
	Hami	甜
	Ürümqi	甜
Southwestern Mandarin	Chengdu	甜
	Nanchong	甜
	Dazhou	甜
	Hanyuan	甜
	Xichang	甜
	Zigong	甜
	Chongqing	甜
	Wuhan	甜
	Yichang	甜
	Xiangyang	甜
	Tianmen	甜
	Guiyang	甜
	Zunyi	甜
	Bijie	甜
	Liping	甜
	Zhaotong	甜
	Dali	甜
	Kunming	甜
	Mengzi	甜
	Guilin	甜
	Liuzhou	甜
	Jishou	甜
	Changde	甜
	Hanzhong	甜
Jianghuai Mandarin	Nanjing	甜
	Yangzhou	甜
	Lianyungang	甜
	Lianshui	甜
	Nantong	甜
	Anqing	甜
	Wuhu	甜
	Hefei	甜
	Hong'an	甜
Cantonese	Guangzhou	甜
	Hong Kong (San Tin; Weitou)	甜
	Hong Kong (Ting Kok)	甜
	Hong Kong (Tung Ping Chau)	甜
	Dongguan	甜
	Singapore (Guangfu)	甜
Gan	Nanchang	甜
	Lichuan	甜
	Pingxiang	甜
Hakka	Meixian	甜
	Yudu	甜
	Hong Kong	甜
Huizhou	Jixi	甜
Huizhou	Shexian	甜
Jin	Taiyuan	甜
	Yangyuan	甜
	Datong	甜
	Xinzhou	甜
	Lüliang (Lishi)	甜
	Changzhi	甜
	Linhe	甜
	Jining	甜
	Hohhot	甜
	Erenhot	甜
	Pingshan	甜
	Zhangjiakou	甜
	Handan	甜
	Linzhou	甜
	Suide	甜
Northern Min	Jian'ou	甜
Eastern Min	Fuzhou	甜
Southern Min	Xiamen	甜
	Tainan	甜
	Singapore (Hokkien)	甜
	Manila (Hokkien)	甜
	Chaozhou	甜
	Singapore (Teochew)	甜
	Leizhou	甜
	Haikou	甜
	Singapore (Hainanese)	甜
Southern Pinghua	Nanning (Tingzi)	甜
Wu	Shanghai	甜
	Shanghai (Chongming)	甜
	Suzhou	甜
	Danyang	甜
	Hangzhou	甜
	Ningbo	甜
	Wenzhou	甜
	Jinhua	甜
Xiang	Changsha	甜
	Xiangxiang	甜
	Loudi	甜
	Shuangfeng	甜

Antonyms

(antonym(s) of “sweet”): 苦 (kǔ)

Compounds

不甘 (bùgān)
不甘寂寞 (bùgānjìmò)
不甘後人 / 不甘后人 (bùgānhòurén)
不甘心
不甘示弱 (bùgānshìruò)
不甘雌伏
不甘食貧 / 不甘食贫
不知甘苦
供膳甘肥
倒吃甘蔗
分甘
分甘共苦
同甘共苦 (tónggāngòngkǔ)
同甘同苦
善罷甘休 / 善罢甘休 (shànbàgānxiū)
嚥苦吞甘 / 咽苦吞甘
回甘 (huígān)
幣厚言甘 / 币厚言甘
幣重言甘 / 币重言甘
心甘情願 / 心甘情愿 (xīngānqíngyuàn)
旨甘
普降甘霖
樂貧甘賤 / 乐贫甘贱
沛雨甘霖
爐甘石 / 炉甘石 (lúgānshí)
甘之如薺 / 甘之如荠
甘之如飴 / 甘之如饴 (gānzhīrúyí)
甘之若素
甘之若飴 / 甘之若饴
甘井先竭 (gānjǐngxiānjié)
甘休 (gānxiū)
甘伏
甘冒虎口
甘冽
甘分
甘分隨時 / 甘分随时
甘加 (Gānjiā)
甘受 (gānshòu)
甘味 (gānwèi)
甘地主義 / 甘地主义
甘塘坳 (Gāntáng'ào)
甘始
甘孜 (Gānzī)
甘孜藏族自治州 (Gānzī Zàngzú Zìzhìzhōu)
甘家廠 / 甘家厂 (Gānjiāchǎng)
甘居中游
甘心 (gānxīn)
甘心如薺 / 甘心如荠
甘心情願 / 甘心情愿
甘心瞑目
甘心鈇鉞 / 甘心𫓧钺
甘拜下風 / 甘拜下风 (gānbàixiàfēng)
甘旨
甘旨肥濃 / 甘旨肥浓
甘服
甘木 (Gānmù)
甘棠 (gāntáng)
甘棠之惠
甘棠有蔭 / 甘棠有荫
甘棠遺愛 / 甘棠遗爱
甘死如飴 / 甘死如饴 (gānsǐrúyí)
甘比亞 / 甘比亚 (Gānbǐyà)
甘毳
甘水
甘油 (gānyóu)
甘泉 (gānquán)
甘泉必竭
甘涼 / 甘凉
甘珠爾 / 甘珠尔
甘瓜苦蒂
甘甜 (gāntián)
甘盡苦來 / 甘尽苦来
甘納豆 / 甘纳豆
甘紫菜
甘結 / 甘结 (gānjié)
甘羅 / 甘罗
甘美 (gānměi)
甘羞
甘肅 / 甘肃 (Gānsù)
甘脆 (gāncuì)
甘膬
甘芳
甘苦 (gānkǔ)
甘茂
甘草 (gāncǎo)
甘草人物
甘草粉
甘菊 (gānjú)
甘蔗
甘蔗板
甘蔗顛子 / 甘蔗颠子
甘蕉 (gānjiāo)
甘藍 / 甘蓝 (gānlán)
甘薯 (gānshǔ)
甘薯簽 / 甘薯签
甘薯葉 / 甘薯叶
甘藷 / 甘薯 (gānshǔ)
甘處下流 / 甘处下流
甘蠅 / 甘蝇
甘言 (gānyán)
甘言厚幣 / 甘言厚币
甘言厚禮 / 甘言厚礼
甘言好辭 / 甘言好辞
甘言巧辭 / 甘言巧辞
甘言美語 / 甘言美语
甘谷 (Gāngǔ)
甘貧守分 / 甘贫守分
甘貧守志 / 甘贫守志
甘貧守節 / 甘贫守节
甘貧樂道 / 甘贫乐道
甘迺迪角
甘醴
甘限
甘雨 (gānyǔ)
甘雨隨車 / 甘雨随车
甘霖 (gānlín)
甘露 (gānlù)
甘露之變 / 甘露之变
甘露子
甘露水漿 / 甘露水浆
甘露法雨
甘露滋心
甘願 / 甘愿 (gānyuàn)
甘食褕衣
甘馨之費 / 甘馨之费
甘鮮 / 甘鲜
甜甘
硝化甘油 (xiāohuàgānyóu)
結球甘藍 / 结球甘蓝 (jiéqiú gānlán)
絕甘分少 / 绝甘分少
美甘甘
美食甘寢 / 美食甘寝
肥甘
自甘墮落 / 自甘堕落 (zìgānduòluò)
苦盡甘來 / 苦尽甘来 (kǔjìngānlái)
荒漠甘泉
莫甘
蒲甘 (Púgān)
蔫甘
褕衣甘食
誓不甘休
輸服甘結 / 输服甘结
食不求甘
食不甘味
飫甘饜肥 / 饫甘餍肥
黃甘甘 / 黄甘甘

References

莆田市政协文化文史和学习委员会 [Culture, History and Learning Committee of Putian CPPCC], editor (2021), “甘”, in 莆仙方言大词典 [Comprehensive Dictionary of Puxian Dialect] (overall work in Mandarin and Puxian Min), Xiamen University Press, →ISBN, page 194.