给
to; for; for the benefit of; to give; to allow; to do sth (for sb); (grammatical equivalent of 被); (grammatical equivalent of 把); (sentence intensifier); (bound form) to supply; to provide; (literary) sufficient; abundant
Closest English meanings
give·supply·provide·for
The Calligrapher — Wáng Wénbǐng 王文秉
Five Dynasties seal-script master whose small seal surpassed Xu Xuan.
Five Dynasties calligrapher (), master of seal script — known for 小篆名家. Five Dynasties period
Cultural Story
Read jǐ, 给 was the formal word for supplying: granaries that 给 border troops, stipends that 给 court officials, a realm praised as 家给人足 when every household was supplied and every person fed. The Xunzi counts steady provision among the first duties of a state. From this official register it slipped, over centuries, into the everyday gěi of simply handing something over.
Common words & phrases
- 送给 give · present
- 交给 hand over · give
- 供给 supply · provide
- 给予 give · render
- 给以 give · grant
- 自给 self-sufficient
Read the story behind the character
Gěi is possibly the busiest verb in Mandarin. A child tugs a sleeve: 给我, give me, the red crayon; a colleague 交给, hands, you the report before five. Civil servants discuss 供给, supply, of housing; a mentor 给予, bestows, careful feedback; proud farmers boast of 自给, self-sufficiency, in vegetables, and every polite request ends with a hopeful 给.
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