凱 (kǎi): triumphal music

Meanings

1 triumphal music
2 victory
3 surname Kai

Characters

凱

kǎi

triumphal / victory

Examples

战士们凯旋而归。

Zhànshì men kǎixuán ér guī.

The soldiers returned in triumph.

凯歌响彻云霄。

Kǎigē xiǎngchè yúnxiāo.

The victory song resounded through the clouds.

Tips

usage

凱 is the traditional form of 凯. It appears in compounds like 凱旋 (triumphant return) and 凱歌 (triumphal song). As a standalone character it is rare in modern usage.

Components

radical

几 jī

small table; bench

Right 几 — pictograph of a low table or bench, used as a stand or rest. The radical anchor for 凱; here it represents the wooden stand on which the triumphal drum was placed for display. Together with 豈 on the left, the two pieces form a 'drum on its stand' scene — the centerpiece of a victory celebration.

phonetic

豈 qǐ

how could it be; victory drum

Left 豈 supplies the sound qǐ drifting to kǎi via initial alternation. Beautifully, 豈 originally pictured a drum mounted on a stand — exactly the instrument played in triumphal celebrations. Sound and meaning lock together: 豈's older 'victory drum' sense is the seed from which 凱's 'triumphal music' grew.