改 (gǎi) is a Chinese character meaning “to change”. It is written from 己 (oneself) and 攵 (a hand holding a stick; marks an action done to something), side by side, and takes 7 strokes.
Build the character for “to change”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
己 + 攵
Left–right structure
Structure from: 说文解字（改，更也。从攴、己）
Memory aid
Yourself (己) on the left, a hand with a stick (攵) on the right: something taps at you until you change. Both parts really are in this character.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
7 strokes
In real words
- 改变gǎi biànto change改 = gǎiHSK 3
- 修改xiū gǎito revise; to amend改 = gǎiHSK 4
- 悔改huǐ gǎito repent and mend one’s ways改 = gǎi
Go deeper
All readings
to change
to change; to alter; to correct; to revise
变更；修正。把原来的样子或错误变成另一个样子。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 改变gǎi biànto change改 = gǎiHSK 3
- 修改xiū gǎito revise; to amend改 = gǎiHSK 4
- 悔改huǐ gǎito repent and mend one’s ways改 = gǎi
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 改 mean?
改 (gǎi) means to change; to alter; to correct; to revise.
How do you pronounce 改?
It is pronounced gǎi.
What parts is 改 made of?
己 (oneself) and 攵 (a hand holding a stick; marks an action done to something), side by side. The recorded source is: 说文解字（改，更也。从攴、己）. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 改 have?
7. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 改?
攴. The radical is how the character is filed in a dictionary — it is not the whole story of how the character is built.
What words use 改?
Common ones are 改变 and 修改. The reading of 改 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.