艮 (gèn): one of the Eight Trigrams (symb…

Meanings

1 one of the Eight Trigrams (symbolizing mountain)
2 northeast (ancient compass)
3 blunt
4 tough
5 chewy

Examples

艮卦代表山。

Gèn guà dàibǐao shān.

The Gen trigram represents mountain.

这个萝卜太艮了，咬不动。

Zhège luóbo tài gěn le, yǎo bù dòng.

This radish is too tough to bite.

Tips

culture

艮 (☶) is one of the 八卦 (Eight Trigrams) from the I Ching. It represents mountain, stillness, and stopping. In feng shui, 艮 corresponds to the northeast direction.

usage

As an adjective (gěn, 3rd tone), 艮 is a northern dialect word meaning tough/chewy/hard to chew, often describing root vegetables. As a trigram name (gèn, 4th tone), it's more literary.

Components

ideograph

艮 gèn

stop; mountain trigram

艮 is itself a Kangxi radical and one of the eight trigrams, representing mountain and the northeast. The graph shows an eye looking back over a turned body, an abstract symbol for halting and standing firm. It heads its own tiny family including 良 and 艰.

Radical

Stopping Kangxi #138

The 'stopping' radical, named after the Yijing trigram for mountain (☶) which signifies stillness and a halt. Indexes a tiny set: 良 (good), 艰 (difficult). Low productivity, but visually distinctive enough that almost any character containing the 艮 block (恨, 限, 跟, 很, 银) feels related at a glance — though most of those file under their other radicals.