Taxonomy of meanings for 更:  

  • 更 gēng (OC: kraaŋ MC: kɯaŋ) 古行切 平 廣韻:【代也償也改也又古孟切 】
    • CHANGE
      • vadVby way of introducing a change intended to constitute an improvement; in a way so as to try to improve and change things
      • vt[oN]actget to change, change one's orientation
      • vt[oN]actmake amends; make up for things, change oneself for the better; try to change to the better
      • vt(oN)change the contextually determinate object , thus trying to improve it
      • vt+V[0]change or improve so as to V
      • vtoNrevise; amend; redefine; try to improve; to make the proper changes to, typically by duly replacing something by a newer version of it
      • vtoNpassiveget changed with the intention of improvement
      • vtt(oN1.)+N2change the contextually determinate thing N1 into N2
      • viprocessget better; improveCH
      • vtoNchange the character ofCH
      • generalised> ACT
        • vtoNdeal with (difficult situations etc), handle in action CH
      • and replace> REPLACE
        • vadVby way of replacement, instead
        • vtoNreplace and change into something new
        • vttoN1.+vtoN2replace N1 with N2
        • recompense service with suitable recompense> REWARD
          • of military service until change of guard or office> PERIOD
            • nabwatch of the night (divided into five two-hour periods, wǔgēng 五更, the first starting at 7 p.m.)
        • so as to conform with> ADJUST
            • well adjusted> GOOD
          • pass through> CROSS OVER
            • grammaticalised> CLASSIFIERS
            • 更 gèng (OC: kraaŋs MC: kɯaŋ) 古孟切 去 廣韻:【易也改也説文作㪅古孟切又古衡切一 】
              • AGAIN
                • vadVanother time, yet again; once more; also plural: more times in the future
                • temporal> FUTURE
                  • vadVhenceforth
                • additive> MOREOVER
                  • intensitive> INTENSELY
                    • vadV{NEG}(not) at all
                    • comparative> MORE
                      • vadVstill more, (before negatives) still less ZUO
                      • vadV.postSall the more (given that S)CH
                      • vad.VtoNreference=N(Vt) more NCH
                      • differentiating> OTHER
                        • v.adVt1+.Vt2+N reference=Nanother object, a new object
                        • vad.VtoNreference=object(VERB) another (OBJECT) 更立法 "establish other laws"
                        • vadNanother (day); another (object)
                        • vadVto someone else, in favour of someone else; someone else; something else

                Additional information about 更

                說文解字:

                  Criteria
                • OTHER

                  1. The current general word for "other" is tuō 他 / 它.

                  2. Yú 餘 refers specifically to the left-over items or the remaining items, sometimes in later texts also to different items.

                  3. Yì 異 "different" can occasionally come close in meaning to "other".

                  4. Gèng 更 is always used adnominally or adverbially and implies an action of changing items or - typically - an action of waiting until "another" item.

                  5. Rén 人 refers indefinitelyh to other persons, in the singular (someone else) or in the plural (other people), but never as "the other person" or as "the other people".

                  6. Wù 物 can occasionally come to refer to other things or creatures, sometimes even other people, in the singular or plural.

                • AGAIN

                  [CYCLIC/LINEAR]

                  [GENERAL/SPECIFIC]

                  [INCREASING/STATIC]

                  [SUBJ=HUMAN/SUBJ=NON-HUMAN]

                  1. Fù 復 tends to refer to a cyclic repetition of any any event, action, or process.

                  [CYCLIC!], [GENERAL]

                  2. Yòu 又 refers to linear repetition, often of an incremental nature, of any event, action, or process (compare LAO 玄之又玄 "even more mysterious than the mysterious".

                  [GENERAL], [INCREASING!], [LINEAR]

                  3. Zài 再 refers generally to linear repetition of the same action, typically by a human agent.

                  [GENERAL], [LINEAR], [SUBJ=HUMAN!]

                  4. Gèng 更 in front of transitive verbs typically implies a change of object and thus often retains elements of its original force "improve", and the word often retains the nuance of an intended systematic improvement achieved by the change.

                  [SPECIFIC], [SUBJ=HUMAN]

                  5. Xí 襲 refers to repetition by way of a continuation of a traditIon. See REPEAT.

                  [LINEAR], [SPECIFIC], [SUBJ=HUMAN]

                • REPLACE

                  1. The current general word for replacing one thing with another is yì 易, "to exchange", which is also often used to refer to replacing one thing with another 以羊易之 "replace it with a sheep".dài 代.

                  2. Gēng 更 refers to replacing something and changing it into something new.

                  3. Dài 代 can refer to any deliberate or non-deliberate replacement of one thing by another, but the replacement tends to be conceived of as reversible.

                • BEAUTIFUL

                  [ABSOLUTE/GRADED]

                  [ACOUSTIC/VISUAL]

                  [ARTIFICIAL/NATURAL]

                  [[COMMON/RARE]]

                  [ELEVATED/VULGAR]

                  [GENERAL/SPECIFIC]

                  [HUMAN/NON-HUMAN]

                  [POETIC/PROSAIC]

                  1. The general word is měi 美 "handsome and admirable" (ant. è 惡 "ugly") which refers to anything concrete or abstract which is attractive or handsome in a dignified way, and the word often retains its primary culinary sense of "tasty".

                  [GENERAL], [GRADED]; [[COMMON]]

                  2. Lì 麗 (ant. sù 素 "unaodorned") is often restricted to physical objects, prototypically to clothes, and emphasises their balanced symmetric beauty, occasionally also - by analogy - the well-aligned symmetric beauty of mountains.

                  [ELEVATED], [NON-HUMAN], [VISUAL!]

                  3. Wén 文 (ant. zhì 質 "merely material") emphasises cultivated external as well as internal elegance as well as traditionalism.

                  [ARTIFICIAL], [ELEVATED], [NON-HUMAN], [VISUAL!]

                  4. Yǎ 雅 (ant. sú 俗 "vulgar") emphasises primarily external elevated elegance.

                  [ACOUSTIC!], [ARTIFICIAL], [ELEVATED+], [NON-HUMAN]

                  5. Hǎo 好 "comely, handsome" (ant. chǒu 醜 "ugly") refers indiscriminately to men and women, but the word is sometimes more general and even abstract in application and refers to attractive words or attractive moral qualities.

                  [HUMAN!], [NATURAL], [VISUAL]

                  6. Xiù 秀 "of vigorous and imposing beauty" focusses on flourishing and flamboyant beauty in analogy with that of flowers.

                  [ELEVATED], [NATURAL], [NON-HUMAN], [POETIC], [VISUAL]; [[RARE]]

                  7. Huá 華 "of striking and colourful beauty" (ant. sú 俗 "vulgar") focusses on flourishing and flamboyant superficial or only apparent beauty, on the analogy analogy with that of flowers.

                  [ARTIFICIAL], [ELEVATED], NON-HUMAN], [SUPERFICIAL], [VISUAL]

                  8. Zhuàng 壯 "stately" (ant. ruò 弱 "weak and unsightly") is virile beauty associated with strength and vigour. See STRONG

                  [NATURAL], [MARGINAL], [POETIC]; [[RARE]]

                  9. Jiā 佳 "of outstanding beauty" (NB: liè 劣 "unremarkable" is the ant. of jiā 佳 "outstanding", and not in the meaning of "outstandingly beautiful") emphasises comparative beauty compared to others in the same group.

                  [GRADED], [ELEVATED], [NATURAL], [POETIC]

                  10. Dū 都 "urbane and exquisitely beautiful" (ant. bì 鄙 "rustic and inelegant") is a highly poetic word that can only be used in elevated prose.

                  [ARCHAIC], [ELEVATED], [POETIC], [VISUAL]; [[RARE]]

                  11. Yán 妍 "attractive and exquisite (of humans as well as human products)" (ant. chì 蚩 "unattractive") refers to elaborate beauty. See SEXY.

                  [ARCHAIC], [ELEVATED], [HUMAN], [POETIC]; [[RARE]]

                  12. Xiū 脩 / 修 "refined moral beauty" refers to moral as well as physical beauty, thus coming close the Greek kalokagathia, but never approaching the latter in importance as a cultural keyword.

                  <div>[ELEVATED], [ARTIFICIAL]; [[RARE]]</div><div><br></div><div>吳蓬,東方審美詞彙集萃,上海文藝出版社,2002 lists the following rough definitions of a variety of terms of aesthetic appreciation by the artist and scholar Wu Peng. Many of these terms express conventional appreciative flattery only. This list does provide one not particularly well-known artist's subjective readings of some basic terms of traditional Chinese aesthetic approbation.</div><div>勃:富有生机之突起。<br>苍:浓的,毛的,老练的。<br>沉:沉着不浮,有重量感。<br>冲:调成和淡之意向。<br>饬:整顿。<br>粗:大而不笨者。<br>淳:清,往往易薄,然而淳是清中滋润之厚。<br>醇:与淳略同,这醇是提炼后的滋润之厚。<br>绰:与"约"字合用,即舒而不纵之意。<br>澹:平静而有幽淡之趣。<br>淡:与浓艳相对。<br>宕:放荡不拘。<br>跌:往往与"宕"字合用,即是起伏明显之状。<br>端:方正而不出偏,有稳实感。<br>敦:很实在的,结实的厚。<br>繁:众而密,有生气。<br>方:与平正同义。<br>丰:饱满而充足。<br>风:审美中之"风"指的是一种气韵格调。<br>飞:大幅度的流动。<br>刚:属于阳性的,有正力的,与柔软相对。</div><div>高:俯视一切的、超然得不一般。<br>工:规矩,不潦草。<br>孤:自我独立。<br>古:旧气,更有历史的抗怀千载之迹象。<br>骨:内在的架子。<br>犷:是跟"雄悍"接近,在粗中发展开来。<br>瑰:不单调的美。<br>乖:不和顺。<br>憨:近于拙朴而敦实。<br>酣:厚润四溢。<br>豪:激动向上之貌,有气魄。<br>宏:大而有气度。<br>厚:有沉积的饱和。<br>华:明亮而艳丽。<br>环:长久圆融之境。<br>荒:与"枯简"接近,不修饰。<br>豁:与开朗接近,然比开朗明显。<br>恢:宽广有余。<br>浑:团然一气之象,有朦胧感。<br>简:经过一番整修的减少。<br>娇:美得可爱。<br>警:审美中用此警字,往往指敏锐、颖达。<br></div><div>劲:能察觉的力。<br>精:很到位。<br>隽:精致而具内涵之美。<br>娟:秀而婉丽。<br>崛:高起而突出。<br>俊:人材杰曲之美。<br>峻:山高而陡。在书画中是浓而锋利之用笔。<br>空:有灵气之空白。<br>枯:干而毛,生的萎缩,然亦是力的显露。<br>宽:大度而畅朗。<br>旷:广阔而空灵。<br>辣:是枯毛爽直的老笔触。<br>朗:明亮而豁然。<br>琅:圆而光润。<br>伦:是同类之意,带有文明意念。<br>冷:跟"淡"与"静”接近,与浓烈相对。<br>炼:精到而有功力。<br>淋:与"漓”往往合用,是无拘束的洒落。<br>流:明显的动感。<br>迈:阔而放的超势。<br>莽:宽广而繁密的,朴直奔放的。<br>袤:与"古"字合用,即悠长久远之趣。<br>茂:有生气的繁密。<br>媚:柔美之趣。<br>宓:安而静。<br>明:清晰有亮度。<br>凝:浓重而不流动。<br>懦:毫无火气之柔软。<br>平:一般的,接近于稳。<br>朴:原始状态,形象较准。<br>嫖:与"姚"字合用,即动疾之状,而有气势。<br>奇:不一般。<br>气:生发的,迎面直扑而来的感觉。<br>清:是混的相对。其间透出一股朗气。<br>峭:山之直而险,在书画中是露锋的侧锋用笔,有明显露<br>尖状态。文章中之峭,是意气直逼。<br>遒:婉转有致,内力强劲。<br>虬:与遒类似,但动感较强,弯曲而有力度。<br>意:诚实谨慎。<br>儒:代表文人之书卷气。<br>洒:散落无拘束。<br>赡:富有与丰实。若与"疏”、"逸”组合即成"澹”或"安"之义。</div><div>骚:审美中之骚字,可引伸为风骚至风流感。<br>韶:美丽有光泽。<br>涩:在不爽快的进程中,流露出内力之美。<br>深:不是浮面的。<br>神:精与气合。高端的。<br>生:不成熟,但比成熟有味。<br>肆:任意放纵。<br>松:松是灵活自然,是一切技巧之本要。<br>瘦:与粗笨相对,在审美中的"瘦",是指细长而精练。<br>疏:一种稀少秀朗之美。<br>肃:有立即静穆下来之势。<br>率:与潦草随便有别,爽快而直接。<br>邃:深远而悠久。<br>阅:通达之意。<br>给:与"宕"合用,是安详舒放之趣。<br>天:很自然,一片天箱之"天"。<br>恬:安静而坦然。<br>挺:直而有生气。<br>婉:柔和而曲折。<br>温:是一种暖调与缓和的综合。</div><div>巍:往往与"峨"合用,是高大厚实之趣。<br>洗:与"炼”合用,即是"精炼"之意,凡物之洁出于洗。<br>犀:与"利"字合用,即坚利。<br>熙:光明,和乐。<br>细:指细而不纤。<br>娴:文静而雅致。<br>闲:一种高雅的自由。<br>萧:疏少有致。<br>潇:散朗而润泽。<br>馨:很醇厚的香气。<br>篁:"篁古”是悠远辽阔之意。<br>雄:强大,有力度,有霸气。<br>秀:灵巧的,有生气的,美好的显露。<br>虚:表象空,但并非真空。<br>雅:文气而不俗。<br>妍:鲜美而柔性。<br>严:认真,不马虎。<br>淹:一种浸沉与精深明达之境。<br>野:超脱、不规范。<br>冶:经过一番精致修饰。<br>逸:悠闲的起伏。</div><div>意:精神倾向。<br>莹:透明而幽亮。<br>雍:往往与“容"字合用,有和顺之貌。<br>幽:静而深。<br>腴:肥润而饱和。<br>郁:厚积而有生气。<br>纤:与"迥"字合用,即弯环回绕之趣。<br>遹:与"瑰"字合用,即纤迥美丽之趣。<br>渊:往往与"懿"合用,是深润而悠美之趣。<br>圆:接近于饱满润滑。<br>蕴:与"藉"合用,即内涵丰富。<br>韵:一种余味不尽之趣。<br>恣:放纵的,无拘束的。<br>滋:湿润感。<br>自:出于本性的流露。<br>质:本体的,实在的。<br>纵:放逸无拘之状。<br>拙:接近朴,形不准。<br>庄:端正之貌。<br>卓:与“荤"合用,是突出明显之状。<br></div><div><br></div><br>

                • MORE

                  1. The most current and general word expressing the idea of something becoming more rather than less is yì 益 (ant. sǔn 損 "less and less").

                  2. Mí 彌 focusses a difference in degree or number rather than on a process of increase.

                  3. Yù 愈 (NB: shǎo 少 does not function as an antonym "less and less".) typically refers to a continuous or continuing dynamic increase or process.

                  4. Gèng 更 and the rarer words fù 復 and yòu 又 "even more" indicate that the increase is from a level that is already high.

                  5. Jiā 加 typically refers to an increase not in the intensity of something, but in the quantity or number.

                  6. Yóu 尤 "particularly" singles out an item as instantiating something with particular intensity, more than most other comparable things.

                  NB: 愈 may precede non-comparative verbs. Thus yù qǐ 愈起 "tend even more to occur" GUAN 47 could not have yì qǐ 益起. HF 19 has yù wáng 愈亡 "will tend ever more to fail". 愈至 "tend even more to arrive".

                • CHANGE

                  1. The most current general words for objective and typically abrupt change are biàn 變 "change FROM one's original state to become something different" (ant. héng 恆 "remain constant").

                  2. Huà 化 (ant. cháng 常 "remain constant") refers to irreversible change INTO a fundamentally new state, while retaining one's identity".

                  3. Gǎi 改 refers to a deliberate change brought about at a certain point in time, typically in order to improve a situation. See IMPROVE

                  4. Gēng 更 is an act of deliberately changing something, typically by replacing it by an improved version of the same kind of thing in order to insure continuity.

                  5. Gé 革 (ant. yīn 因 "continue the tradition") refers to a typically unlicenced act of replacing the old by something new.

                  6. Yì 易 refers prototypically to a change construed as brought about by a process of interchange and (often mutual) replacement.

                  7. Dòng 動 refers to change construed as the moving from a previous stable state.

                  8. Xǐ 徙 refers to making the object moved unstable.

                  9. Yí 移 refers to a change in a current situation so as to effect a certain development in a desired direction.

                  10. Yú 渝 is to change a current situation or an object, generally to the worse, and the word is remarkably often negated.

                  11. Qiān 遷 (ant. 滯 "stay put in one place, unable to move") refers typically to change of one's current condition brought about by oneself.

                  12. Fǎn 反 refers to a change resulting in the reverting to one's original state. See RETURN vt.fig

                  13. Zhuǎn 轉 refers to change typically construed as part of a cycle of changes.

                  Word relations
                • Contrast: (CHANGE)改/CHANGE Gǎi 改 refers to a deliberate change brought about at a certain point in time, typically in order to improve a situation. See IMPROVE
                • Contrast: (CHANGE)易/CHANGE Yì 易 refers prototypically to a change construed as brought about by a process of interchange and (often mutual) replacement.
                • Contrast: (CHANGE)變/CHANGE The most current general words for objective and typically abrupt change are biàn 變 "change from one's original state to become something different" (ant. héng �� "remain constant").
                • Assoc: (CHANGE)改/IMPROVE The standard word for changing something for the better is gǎi 改.
                • Assoc: (OTHER)別/OTHER
                • Assoc: (CHANGE)變/CHANGE The most current general words for objective and typically abrupt change are biàn 變 "change from one's original state to become something different" (ant. héng �� "remain constant").
                • Assoc: (CHANGE)革/CHANGE Gé 革 (ant. yīn 因 "continue the tradition") refers to a typically unlicenced act of replacing the old by something new.
                • Synon: (CHANGE)改/CHANGE Gǎi 改 refers to a deliberate change brought about at a certain point in time, typically in order to improve a situation. See IMPROVE
                • Synon: (CHANGE)易/CHANGE Yì 易 refers prototypically to a change construed as brought about by a process of interchange and (often mutual) replacement.