加 (jiā): to add

Meanings

1 to add
2 to increase
3 plus

Characters

加

jiā

to add; to increase

Examples

请加我的微信。

Qǐng jiā wǒ de Wēixìn.

Please add me on WeChat.

一加一等于二。

Yī jiā yī děngyú èr.

One plus one equals two.

你要加糖吗？

Nǐ yào jiā táng ma?

Do you want to add sugar?

Tips

culture

加微信 (add on WeChat) is the modern Chinese equivalent of exchanging phone numbers.

Components

radical

力 lì

strength; force

Left indexing radical 力 (a flexed arm or plough). Provides the 'effort, exertion' meaning — adding something requires force. Same radical groups action characters: 助 (help), 努 (strive), 功 (achievement), 劳 (labour). Here it pairs with 口 to form a compound ideograph.

semantic

口 kǒu

mouth

Right side 口 (mouth). Compound ideograph: strength + mouth = 'piling on' through speech, exaggeration, or boasting — adding words to amplify an effort. From there generalised to mathematical 'add' (加 = plus). Pairs with the strength radical to give the original 'speak with force' picture.