干 (gàn) — to do, to work, to manage (a task)

干 (gàn) is a general-purpose verb for doing, working on, or handling a task. It pairs with nouns like 活 'work' or 事儿 'things' (干活, 干事儿) to mean 'to work / get things done'.

The simplified 干 stands for more than one traditional character. In most words (饼干, 干杯) it is 乾; in others (干, 干活儿) (干扰) it is 幹 or 干.

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 乾; 干 is its simplified writing.