垓 (gāi) · (classical) the far bounds of the land; a frontier…

Meanings

HSK 7-9

项羽被围于垓下，悲歌诀别。

Xiàng Yǔ bèi wéi yú Gāi xià, bēigē juébié.

Xiang Yu was surrounded at Gaixia and sang his last song in despair.

history

垓 is not used independently in modern Chinese. It survives chiefly in the place name 垓下, where Xiang Yu was defeated by Liu Bang. The phonetic is 亥.

register

Archaic and historical only, encountered as a place name or in old texts, not in everyday speech.

radical

土 tǔ

earth; soil; land

The earth radical 土 fits the meaning: 垓 refers to land, the far bounds of a territory or a battle ground.

phonetic

亥 hài

the 12th earthly branch

亥 supplies the sound, drifted to gāi. The same phonetic appears in 该 (ought to) and 孩 (child).

垓 gāi