革

The character 革 is a pictograph representing the act of peeling off leather by hand.

It is closely related in pronunciation and meaning to 改 (to change, fix) and 更 (to renew), which is why it also carries meanings like "to make new" or "to reform."

This character is used in words like 革命 (revolution) and 革新 (innovation). Additionally, 革 is used as a variant (通假字) of 䩯, which means a severe or critical illness.

When used as a radical, it generally indicates meanings related to leather or leather products.

The radical usually appears on the left side as a semantic component but can sometimes appear underneath the character.

Examples of characters using this radical include:

靴 (shoe)

鞍 (saddle)

鞏 (to strengthen)

靭 (tough, flexible)

In Korea, among commonly used characters related to leather, only 革 is used as a radical (as a side radical).

The character 皮 is mostly used in rare or obsolete characters, and while 韋 is used in some cases, such as 韓 (Korea), it is not widely used as a radical in daily use.