Meaning of 盖
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- lid
- top
- cover
- canopy
- to cover
- to conceal
- to build
- surname Ge
How to use 盖
As a verb, 盖 (gài) means to cover something, and it is also the everyday verb for building a house. As a noun it means a lid, usually said as 盖子 (gàizi). Example: 他们在这里盖了一座新楼。(Tāmen zài zhèlǐ gài le yí zuò xīn lóu.) They built a new building here.
Look at the bottom of 盖: it is 皿 (mǐn), a dish or container. The part on top sits over the dish like a lid, so 盖 means a lid or to cover something.
Common mistake: Learners often use 建 (jiàn) or 做 (zuò) for building a house in casual speech, but 盖房子 (gài fángzi) is the natural spoken phrase. Also keep the bottom as 皿 (mǐn), not 血 (xuè) or 四.
盖 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Stroke order for each character
Open a character for its meaning, components and more words.
盖 gài · lid · 11 strokes
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Related words
Words that share a character with 盖.
| 膝盖 | xīgài | knee; (Internet slang) to kneel down (in admiration) |
| 覆盖 | fùgài | to cover |
| 掩盖 | yǎngài | to conceal; to hide behind |
| 盖子 | gàizi | cover; lid |
| 涵盖 | hángài | to cover; to comprise |
| 遮盖 | zhēgài | to hide; to cover (one's tracks) |
| 盖上 | gàishang | to cover |
| 盖儿 | gàir | cover; lid |
| 盖世 | gàishì | unrivalled; matchless |
| 引擎盖 | yǐnqínggài | (car) hood; bonnet |
| 盖章 | gàizhāng | to affix a seal; to stamp (a document) |
| 头盖骨 | tóugàigǔ | skull; cranium |
Questions about 盖
What does 盖 mean?
盖 (gài) means "lid; top" and is used as a verb.
How do you write 盖?
盖 is made of 1 character: 盖 (11 strokes). That is 11 strokes in total.
Is 盖 an HSK word?
Yes. 盖 is on the HSK 4 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
How is 盖 written in traditional Chinese?
In traditional characters, 盖 is written 蓋.
How do I say 'cover yourself with a blanket' using 盖?
Say 盖被子 (gài bèizi), which means to cover yourself with a quilt or blanket. Parents often tell children 把被子盖好 (bǎ bèizi gài hǎo), meaning 'tuck the blanket in properly'.
Is 盖 ever read as Gě?
Yes, but only as a surname, written 盖 (Gě). In all other uses, such as lid, cover, or build, it is read gài.