纲 (gāng) — outline; summary; guiding principle; key link; (biology) class (taxonomic rank)
Definition
纲 (gāng) names the 'guiding outline or principle' of something — a plan's spine, not its details. In biology it is the taxonomic rank 'class' between 门 (phylum) and 目 (order).
noun
outlinesummaryguiding principlekey link(biology) class (taxonomic rank)
Easily confused
- 钢gānglook-aliketo sharpen (a blade) on a steel; to strop; to hone
- 刚gāngsound-alikejust (a short while ago; indicating an action happened moments before)
- 冈gāngsound-alikemountain ridge (bound form, used in compounds)
- 缸gāngsound-alikejar, vat (large container for liquids or grains)
- 肛gāngsound-alike(bound form) anus; anal
- 杠gāngsound-alike(bound form) bar, stick, rod (as in 杠杆 lever, 双杠 parallel bars, 单杠 horizontal bar)
Examples
- 纲。Qǐng gēn jù zhè fèn gāng xiě yì piān bào gào.Please write a report based on this outline.
- 纲。Gāi jì huà de gāng hé xīn shì kě chí xù fā zhǎn.The core guiding principle of the plan is sustainable development.
- 纲。Niǎo lèi shǔ yú niǎo gāng.Birds belong to the class Aves.
Origin
Sound + meaning六书liùshū
形声xíngshēngMost 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 綱; 纲 is its simplified writing.
Meaning part形符xíngfú
糸糸mìrope
Sound part声符shēngfú
岡
岡gāng綱gāng
Same sound today
The traditional form 綱 has 糸 (rope) beside 岡 as a sound part; the simplified 纲 is a shorthand and its parts are not the historical components.
Appears in
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