Taxonomy of meanings for 感:  

  • 感 gǎn (OC: koomʔ MC: kəm) 古禫切 上 廣韻:【動也古禫切十一 】
    • STIMULATE
      • vibe affected, be (cosmologically) moved or stimulated into action, can be positive and negative
      • vtoNaffect psychologically, move; of things and humans
      • vtoNpassivebe stimulated by
      • vtoNpassivebe stimulated by, be affected by; allow oneself to be moved by
      • feature: medical> CONTAGEOUS
      • physical>PUSH
        • passive, resultative: respond>RESPOND
            • action>COPULATE
              • viactbe moved to copulate ???
            • passive: be affected>FEEL
              • vtoNreact to, feel
              • vtoNpassivebe moved by
              • nabpsychbeing inwardly moved by outside thingsCH
              • vt[oN]middlevoicebe affected; be movedCH
              • psychological>GRATEFUL
                • vt+Sbe grateful that S
                • vttoN.+V[0]be grateful to N for V-ing
              • specific: in relation to persons>YEARN
                • abstract>FEELING
                  • psychological>CONFUSED
            • 感 han4《集韻》胡紺切,去勘匣。侵部。
              • =撼
              • =憾
            • gǎnTOUCH
              • vtoNtouch (lightly) (as a bird flying past a person)CH

            Additional information about 感

            說文解字: 【感】,動人心也。从心、咸聲。 【古禫切】

              Criteria
            • 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>

            • GRATEFUL

              1. Surprisingly, there is only one general word for gratitude as a psychological attitude, and that is the relatively rare dé 德, a highly problematic word which much more often seems to mean "spiritual power" or "virtue" among many other things.

              NB: Gǎn 感 "be grateful" is post-Han (JIN, LU JI) and still relatively rare.

            • REACT

              1. The general term for a responding action is yìng 應 (ant. gǎn 感 "stimulate").

              2. Bào 報 (ant.* 施 "take initiative to do something") refers specifically to some kind of paying back in kind, both positive and negative.

              3. Dài 待 is to respond to a situation as best one can.

              4. Huán 還 is occasionally used to mean "in return, by way of response".

            • STIMULATE

              1. The current general word for stimulating a sentient being into action, or causing feelings, is gǎn 感 (ant. yìng 應 "respond").

              2. Jī 激 refers to prodding something or someone into action.

              3. Dòng 動 refers to bringing about action or movement in someone or something.

              4. Kāng kǎi 慷慨 is marginal in this group and refers to a tendency to be moved into actions and feelings by other things.

              Word relations
            • Result: (FEEL)傷/SAD Shāng 傷 (ant. yuè 悅 "be pleased") refers to sadness caused by identifiable external conditions.
            • Contrast: (STIMULATE)動/STIMULATE Dòng 動 refers to bringing about action or movement in someone or something.
            • Contrast: (STIMULATE)振 / 振/SHAKE
            • Contrast: (STIMULATE)起/ARISE The most current general word for something arising is probably qǐ 起 (ant. zhǐ 止 "cease to exist"). [GENERAL]
            • Assoc: (STIMULATE)動/STIMULATE Dòng 動 refers to bringing about action or movement in someone or something.