界

界 (radical 102, 田+4, 9 strokes, cangjie input 田人中中 (WOLL), four-corner 4612₈, composition ⿱田介(G) or ⿳田八⿰丿丨(HTJKV))

• KangXi: page 760, character 18
• Dai Kanwa Jiten: character 21775
• Dae Jaweon: page 1170, character 11
• Hanyu Da Zidian: volume 4, page 2534, character 2
• Unihan data for U+754C

Historical forms of the character 界
Shuowen Jiezi (compiled in Han)
Small seal script

Phono-semantic compound (形聲, OC *kreːds) : semantic 田 (“field”) + phonetic 介 (OC *kreːds).

界

1. boundary

   境界  ―  jìngjiè  ―  boundary; state

2. domain; realm; zone; area
3. circle; world; industry

   音樂界 / 音乐界  ―  yīnyuèjiè  ―  the music world; music circles

4. (taxonomy) kingdom

(grade 3 “Kyōiku” kanji)

1. world
2. border

(Can we verify⁽⁺⁾ this pronunciation?)

• Go-on: け (ke)
• Kan-on: かい (kai, Jōyō)
• Kun: さかい (sakai, 界)

From Middle Chinese 界 (MC kˠɛi^H, “boundary”).

In Buddhist contexts, derived from the Middle Chinese term used as a translation of Sanskrit धातु (dhātu, “layer, stratum”).[1]

• On’yomi: Kan’on
  • (Tokyo) か​い [káꜜì] (Atamadaka – [1])[2]
  • IPA^(key): [ka̠i]

界 (hiragana かい, rōmaji kai)

1. boundary
2. a bounded area or region
3. a bounded group of people, a society, a world as a social grouping, such as business, celebrities, or finance

   Used both as a standalone noun, and in compounds. Use in compounds is more common in this sense.

   自 (し)然 (ぜん)の界 (かい)、自 (し)然 (ぜん)界 (かい)

   shizen no kai, shizenkai

   the natural world

   美術界 (びじゅつかい)

   bijutsukai

   the art world

4. the border edge of a thing
5. (Buddhism) the category of a thing
6. (Buddhism) the world or realm of a thing
7. lines drawn between the lines of a text, as on lined writing paper
8. lines drawn to lay out a draft of a piece of artwork: a sketch
9. (biology, taxonomy) a kingdom
10. (geology) a stratum corresponding to a geologic age

/sakapi/ → /sakaɸi/ → /sakahi/ → /sakai/

The 連用形 (ren'yōkei, “continuative or stem form”) of obsolete verb 境う (sakau, “to divide, to form a boundary between things”).[1][2]

Some sources[1] further derive the verb as Old Japanese element 境 (saka, “division, border, boundary”) + auxiliary verb ふ (fu) indicating repetition or ongoing state. However, given the semantics, this could also be analyzed as the repetitive or ongoing aspect of Old Japanese-derived verb saku with an underlying meaning of “to split apart, to separate, to put distance between”, spelled variously as 割く, 裂く, 離く, or 放く, and cognate with 咲く (saku, “to bloom”, from the idea of the blooms splitting open), 栄える (sakaeru, “to prosper”, extended from the bloom sense), 盛ん (sakan, “prospering, fluorishing”).

• Kun’yomi
  • (Tokyo) さか​い [sàkáꜜì] (Nakadaka – [2])[2]
  • IPA^(key): [sa̠ka̠i]

• 境

界 (hiragana さかい, rōmaji sakai)

1. border, boundary, limits

More commonly spelled 境. Derived terms primarily use that spelling, so see that entry for more details.

界 • (gye) (hangeul 계, revised gye, McCune–Reischauer kye, Yale kyey)

1. This term needs a translation to English. Please help out and add a translation, then remove the text {{rfdef}}.

界 (giới)

1. This term needs a translation to English. Please help out and add a translation, then remove the text {{rfdef}}.