干

干 U+5E72, 干 CJK UNIFIED IDEOGRAPH-5E72 ← 幱 [U+5E71] CJK Unified Ideographs 平 → [U+5E73]

⼲ U+2F32, ⼲ KANGXI RADICAL DRY ← ⼱ [U+2F31] Kangxi Radicals ⼳ → [U+2F33]

Stroke order

Stroke order

干 (Kangxi radical 51, 干+0, 3 strokes, cangjie input 一十 (MJ), four-corner 1040₀, composition ⿱一十)

1. Shuowen Jiezi radical №47

• Appendix:Chinese radical/干
• 仠, 𭆺, 奸, 𡯋, 屽, 𢁗, 㢨, 忓, 扞, 汗, 犴, 𨸗, 迀, 旰, 杆, 㶥, 㸩, 𭕍, 玕, 肝, 𤮽, 𤰟, 𤽂, 皯, 盰, 矸, 𥘏, 秆, 衦, 𥾍, 𦏹, 虷, 姧, 訐(讦), 豻, 赶, 𧿂, 軒(轩), 酐, 𭀧, 𡱭, 釬(𬬧), 𩈅, 靬, 𩎒(𬰱), 飦(𫗞), 𭒋, 馯(𫘛), 骭, 𩵟, 𩾝, 𪌃, 䵟, 𪔆, 𬏎, 鼾, 𪗙
• 刊, 邗, 攼, 𤿊, 𧰪, 䧲, 頇(顸), 鳱, 𪚒, 𪚟, 𫢉, 𠣍, 厈, 𡵃, 𢇛, 芉, 旱, 𣬂, 𤰠, 𤴲, 癷, 𥝝, 𥤱, 𢦡, 䍐, 䍑, 𦉻, 竿, 罕, 閈(闬), 𩂀, 𫹯, 㶣, 𤮻, 㿻, 𭅖, 衎, 哶, 𢒑, 䖫, 𢿂

• 乾, 幹 (Traditional forms of 干)

• Kangxi Dictionary: page 339, character 1
• Dai Kanwa Jiten: character 9165
• Dae Jaweon: page 645, character 22
• Hanyu Da Zidian (first edition): volume 1, page 405, character 5
• Unihan data for U+5E72

Pictogram (象形) of a shield with feather ornaments on top; in some versions in oracle bones, the central and flat part of the shield can be seen as 回.

As an alternative, it's possible 干 and 單 are variant forms of the same character in oracle bone script due to their similar shapes and its appearence in the original forms of 敢. Hence, 干 would depict a bifurcated hunting weapon, not a shield. But 單 has two dots on top that depict two stones, while these two dots are absent in 干.

Also borrowed phonetically as a simplification of 乾 (dry) and 幹.

The interpretation that links this pictogram to a pestle is folk etymology. Unrelated to 午, which however represents a pestle.

simp. and trad.		干
alternative forms		𬼽

Sino-Tibetan. Cognate with 扞 (OC *ɡaːns, “to shield; to protect”), 閈 (OC *ɡaːns, “gate”), 捍 (OC *ɡaːns, *ɡraːnʔ, “to shield, ward off”). Compare Tibetan འགལ ('gal, “to go against, to violate, to contradict”), Burmese ကာ (ka, “shield; to shield; to block”).

干

1. to concern; to be implicated in; implication

   這事與我無干。 [MSC, trad.]
   这事与我无干。 [MSC, simp.]

   Zhè shì yǔ wǒ wú gān. [Pinyin]

   It has nothing to do with me.

2. ^† a shield

   • 形天與帝至此（奇肱之國）爭神，帝斷其首，葬之長羊之山。乃以乳為目，以臍為口，操干戚以舞。 [Classical Chinese, trad.]
     形天与帝至此（奇肱之国）争神，帝断其首，葬之长羊之山。乃以乳为目，以脐为口，操干戚以舞。 [Classical Chinese, simp.]

     From: The Classic of Mountains and Seas

     Xíngtiān yǔ dì zhì cǐ (jī gōng zhī guó) zhēng shén, dì duàn qí shǒu, zàng zhī chángyáng zhī shān. Nǎi yǐ rǔ wéi mù, yǐ qí wéi kǒu, cāo gān qī yǐ wǔ. [Pinyin]

     When Xingtian fought with the Supreme Deity there (the land of people with odd/uneven upper-arms), the Supreme Deity decapitated him and buried his head at Changyang Mountain. [But Xingtian's] nipples became his eyes, his belly button became his mouth and the thrusting of his shield and battle-axe became his dance.

3. ^† to request; to ask
4. ^† to offend; to encroach on
5. ^† to interfere; to intervene
6. ^† bank; edge of water bodies

   江干  ―  jiānggān  ―  (please add an English translation of this usage example)

   河干  ―  hégān  ―  river bank

7. 8th tetragram of the Taixuanjing; "opposition" (𝌍)
8. Short for 天干 (tiāngān, “heavenly stem”).
9. group (of people)

   一干人  ―  yī gān rén  ―  (please add an English translation of this usage example)

10. A place in modern Yangzhou.

    Synonym: 邗 (Hán)

    干越夷貉之子，生而同聲，長而異俗，教使之然也。 [MSC, trad.]
    干越夷貉之子，生而同声，长而异俗，教使之然也。 [MSC, simp.]

    Gānyuè yíhé zhī zǐ, shēng ér tóng shēng, cháng ér yì sú, jiào shǐ zhī rán yě. [Pinyin]

    (please add an English translation of this usage example)

11. Alternative form of 乾／干 (“dry”)
12. Alternative form of 澗／涧 (jiàn, “brook; stream”)
13. Alternative form of 矸 (“rock”)
14. a surname
15. (Mainland China Hokkien) in vain; for nothing

• (in vain): 白 (bái)

干

1. to defend
2. to establish

• → Lao: ກັນ (kan)
• → Shan: ၵၼ် (kǎn)
• → Tai Dam: ꪀꪽ
• → Thai: กัน (gan)

For pronunciation and definitions of 干 – see 乾 (“dry; moistureless; waterless; arid; to dry; to exhaust; etc.”). (This character is the simplified and variant form of 乾).

Notes: Simplified Chinese is mainly used in Mainland China, Malaysia, and Singapore. Traditional Chinese is mainly used in Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan.

For pronunciation and definitions of 干 – see 幹 (“main part of something; body; trunk; to do; etc.”). (This character is the simplified form of 幹).

Notes: Simplified Chinese is mainly used in Mainland China, Malaysia, and Singapore. Traditional Chinese is mainly used in Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan.

For pronunciation and definitions of 干 – see 豻 (“a kind of wild dog from northern China, resembling a fox with a black snout; etc.”). (This character is a variant form of 豻).

For pronunciation and definitions of 干 – see 贛 (“Gan River; Jiangxi, a province of China.; etc.”). (This character is the second-round simplified form of 贛).

Notes: Simplified Chinese is mainly used in Mainland China, Malaysia, and Singapore. Traditional Chinese is mainly used in Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan.

(Sixth grade kyōiku kanji)

• Go-on: かん (kan, Jōyō)
• Kan-on: かん (kan, Jōyō)
• Kun: ほす (hosu, 干す, Jōyō)、ひる (hiru, 干る, Jōyō)、たて (tate, 干)、おかす (okasu, 干す)

• 干(たて)城(き) (tateki)

Kanji in this term
干
かん Grade: 6
on'yomi

From Middle Chinese 干 (MC kan).

• IPA^(key): [kã̠ɴ]

干(かん) • (kan) 

1. shield
2. interfere, invade

shield

• 干(かん)戈(か) (kanka)

interfere, invade

• 干(かん)渉(しょう) (kanshō)
• 干(かん)犯(ぱん) (kanpan)

Kanji in this term
干
かん Grade: 6
on'yomi

Alternative spelling
旱

干 is a daiyōji replacing 旱.

• IPA^(key): [kã̠ɴ]

干(かん) • (kan) 

1. dry

• 干(かん)害(がい) (kangai)
• 干(かん)天(てん) (kanten)
• 干(かん)魃(ばつ) (kanbatsu)

Kanji in this term
干
ひ Grade: 6
on'yomi

Alternative spelling
乾

• (Tokyo) ひ [híꜜ] (Atamadaka – [1])^[1]
• IPA^(key): [çi]

干(ひ) • (hi) 

1. (prefixed to nouns) dry

• 干(ひ)物(もの) (himono)

干 (eumhun 방패 간 (bangpae gan))

1. shield

(Sixth grade kyōiku kanji)

• Kun: ふすん (fusun, 干すん)

干 (can, cán)

1. Nôm form of can (“heavenly stem”).

   四象分干支八卦

   Tứ tượng phân can chi bát quái

   Sixiang created the ten heavenly stems and the eight divinatory trigrams

2. Nôm form of cán (“stem; trunk”).

   有干不生枝玉葉

   Hữu cán bất sinh chi ngọc diệp

   There's the stem but no leaves

干 (can)

1. Nôm form of can (“to dissuade”).

   參拾婆姆姉困干
   𫡲拾仍婆官困𠮶

   Sam síp bà mụ chị khổn can
   Hả síp nhịnh bà quan khổn gạ

   [Even] thirty concubines can't dissuade them
   [Even] fifty mandarins can't make them obey

• Lục Văn Pảo, Hoàng Tuấn Nam (2003) Hoàng Triều Ân, editor, Từ điển chữ Nôm Tày [A Dictionary of (chữ) Nôm Tày]‎^[1] (in Vietnamese), Hanoi: Nhà xuất bản Khoa học Xã hội

干: Hán Việt readings: can
干: Nôm readings: can, càn, cán, cơn

1. chữ Hán form of can (“to intervene; to concern”).