Definition
甲 (jiǎ) has two main uses: (1) as the first of the ten Heavenly Stems (天干), it indicates 'first' in a series — e.g., grade A, Party A in a contract — contrasting with 乙 (yǐ) 'second' and 丙 (bǐng) 'third'; (2) it means 'armor' or a hard shell/carapace (e.g., turtle shell), while 壳 (ké) is the general word for any shell (egg, nut, device).
noun
first of the ten Heavenly Stemsfirst in a seriesgrade Afirst party (in a contract, agreement, etc.)armorshellcarapace
Easily confused
- 由yóulook-alike(preposition) by (indicating the agent or doer of an action)
- 家jiāsound-alikehome; family
- 加jiāsound-aliketo add, to put in
- 假jiǎsound-alikefake, false; artificial
- 架jiàsound-alike(classifier) for aircraft, large vehicles, and machinery (e.g., radios)
- 嫁jiàsound-alike(of a woman) to marry
- 夹jiāsound-alike(verb) to press from either side; to pinch between
- 驾jiàsound-aliketo drive, pilot, sail, or ride (a vehicle or animal)
Examples
- 。Zhè jiā jiǔdiàn shì jiǎ jí biāozhǔn.This hotel is an A-grade standard.
- 甲。Hétong de jiǎ fāng hé lìng yì fāng dōu yào qiānzì.Party A and the other party in the contract both need to sign.
- 甲。Gǔdài shìbīng de jiǎ shì yóu jīnshǔ zhìchéng de.Ancient soldiers' armor was made of metal.
Browse more HSK 5 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.