Definitions
(verb)
to reform; to change
(noun)
leather; animal hide
(verb)
to remove; to dismiss
Etymology
Pictograph of animal hide laying flat.
About
The character 革 originated as a pictographic depiction of an animal hide stretched out for tanning, which gradually stylized into its present form as a single-unit radical. Its core meaning began as a noun for leather or cured hide, but through associative use in processes like leatherworking, which involves stripping and transforming raw skins, it acquired verbal senses of removal and change. This semantic shift is evident in classical and modern compounds such as 革命, where 革 conveys the idea of overturning or renewing through fundamental alteration.
Etymology Hide
Example Sentences Hide
这个包包是皮革做的。
我们需要改革教育制度。
公司致力于技术革新。
工业革命改变了世界。
社会变革需要时间。
他决心革除不良习惯。
经理因失误被革职了。
环保材料的革新促进了可持续发展。