杆 (gān): pole; rod; shaft (long vertical…

Measure Word

一根杆 gēn

Meanings

1 pole; rod; shaft (long vertical type)
2 classifier for long thin objects

Characters

杆

gān

pole; rod; shaft

Examples

HSK 7-9

旗杆上飘着国旗。

Qígān shàng piāo zhe guóqí.

The national flag is flying on the flagpole.

HSK 7-9

电线杆倒在了路中央。

Diànxiàngān dǎo zài le lù zhōngyāng.

The utility pole fell in the middle of the road.

HSK 7-9

桅杆上挂着白色的帆。

Wéigān shàng guà zhe báisè de fān.

A white sail hangs from the mast.

Tips

usage

gān is the reading for long, free-standing poles - 旗杆 (flagpole), 电线杆 (utility pole), 桅杆 (ship's mast), 栏杆 (railing), 撑杆跳 (pole vault). Picture something tall enough to plant upright.

mistakes

杆 has two readings. gān covers free-standing poles. gǎn covers the handle or shaft of an object - 笔杆 pen shaft, 枪杆 gun barrel, 杠杆 lever. Rough rule: if you could stand it up in the ground, it's gān; if it's the stick part of a tool or weapon, it's gǎn.

Components

radical

木 mù

tree; wood

Left tree radical (Kangxi #75) - the indexing radical. A pole, shaft, or rod is a wooden object, so the wood-family marker is literal here. Same radical in 林, 树, 板, 桥, 棒 - the timber/lumber characters.

phonetic

干 gān

shield; pole; dry

Right component supplies the sound (gān, no shift) and adds a faint semantic echo: 干 itself originally pictured a forked weapon/pole and still appears in 旗杆 (flagpole), 栏杆 (railing). So 杆 is 'a wood-version of the pole shape', unusually transparent both phonetically and semantically.