形

形 (Kangxi radical 59, 彡+4, 7 strokes, cangjie input 一廿竹竹竹 (MTHHH), four-corner 1242₂, composition ⿰开彡)

• 䤯

• KangXi: page 363, character 6
• Dai Kanwa Jiten: character 9969
• Dae Jaweon: page 681, character 25
• Hanyu Da Zidian (first edition): volume 2, page 852, character 10
• Unihan data for U+5F62
• Unihan data for U+2F899

Historical forms of the character 形
Shuowen Jiezi (compiled in Han)	Liushutong (compiled in Ming)
Small seal script	Transcribed ancient scripts

Ideogrammic compound (會意) : 幵 + 彡. In current form 幵 has been simplified to 开.

It may also be interpreted as a phono-semantic compound (形聲, OC *ɡeːŋ) : phonetic 井 (OC *skeŋʔ) + semantic 彡, if the original character was 𢒈.

形

1. form; shape; appearance

   形狀／形状  ―  xíngzhuàng  ―  form; appearance; shape

2. image; appearance
3. body; entity; contour

   形體／形体  ―  xíngtǐ  ―  physique

4. style; vogue
5. (grammar) Short for 形容詞／形容词 (xíngróngcí, “adjective”).

• (form): 樣／样 (yàng), 型 (xíng)

(grade 2 “Kyōiku” kanji)

1. shape, form, style

• Go-on: ぎょう (gyō, Jōyō)^{←ぎやう (gyau, historical)}
• Kan-on: けい (kei, Jōyō)
• Kun: かた (kata, 形, Jōyō); かたち (katachi, 形, Jōyō); かたぎ (katagi); なり (nari, 形)
• Nanori: ち (chi)

From Old Japanese. First attested in the Nihon Shoki of 720.[1]

Probably related to 堅い / 硬い / 固い (​katai), hard.

• (Tokyo) かた​ [kàtáꜜ] (Odaka – [2])[2][3][4]
• IPA^(key): [ka̠ta̠]

形(かた) • (kata) 

1. [from 720] a shape
2. [from 720] a form
3. [from 1007] a pattern, die, or model from which copies are made
4. [from roughly 1300s] collateral for borrowed money
5. [from 1775] on a coin, the side with writing on it

   Antonym: 縵面 (name)

Derived from kata above.[1] The kata changes to gata as an instance of rendaku (連濁). Found most commonly as a suffixing element in compounds.

The standalone noun sense was originally a shortening of 女形 (onnagata, literally “woman form”), a female role played by a male actor in kabuki theater. This noun sense is only spelled with the 形 kanji.

• (Tokyo) がた​ [gàtáꜜ] (Odaka – [2])[2]
• IPA^(key): [ɡa̠ta̠]

形(がた) or 形(がだ) • (gata or gada) 

1. [from 1820] (kabuki, theater) Short for 女形 (onnagata)., a female role played by a male actor in kabuki theater

   Synonyms: 女形 (onnagata), お山 (oyama)

形(がた) • (-gata) 

1. (affixed to nouns): the shape or form of the affixed noun

   渦(うず)巻(ま)き形(がた)

   uzumakigata

   a whirlpool shape

   卵(たまご)形(がた)

   tamagogata

   an egg shape

2. (affixed to on'yomi nouns): a typical example of the affixed noun; the type of the affixed noun

   学(がく)者(しゃ)形(がた)

   gakushagata

   a scholar type

   英(えい)雄(ゆう)形(がた)

   eiyūgata

   a hero type

For a shape, the spelling 形 is more commonly used. For a type, the spelling 型 is more commonly used.

• Entry for katai at Gogen-Allguide, mentioning the likely overlap with kata (in Japanese)

From Old Japanese. First attested in the Nihon Shoki of 720.[1]

Compound of 形 (kata, “shape, form”) +‎ ち (-chi),[3] but the derivation of the chi element is unclear.

• (Tokyo) かたち [kàtáchí] (Heiban – [0])[2][3][4]
• IPA^(key): [ka̠ta̠t͡ɕi]

形(かたち) • (katachi) 

1. [from 720] shape or form
2. [from late 900s] shapeliness: see 形有り (katachiari)
3. [from 1688] form, as opposed to substance

From Middle Chinese 形 (MC ɦeŋ). Compare modern Mandarin 形 (xíng). The kan'on reading, so likely a later borrowing.

• IPA^(key): [ke̞ː]

形(けい) • (-kei) 

1. (linguistics) grammatical tense

   過(か)去(こ)形(けい)

   kakokei

   the past tense

   将(しょう)来(らい)形(けい)

   shōraikei

   the future tense

2. (Japanese grammar) a conjugation form of a verb

   連(れん)用(よう)形(けい)

   ren'yōkei

   the continuative form

   命(めい)令(れい)形(けい)

   meireikei

   the imperative or command form

From Old Japanese. First attested in the Nihon Shoki of 720.[1]

From 成り (nari), the 連用形 (ren'yōkei, “continuative or stem form”) of the verb 成る (naru, “to become”).[1][2]

First attested as a suffix on a noun in the 曾我物語 (Soga Mongatari),[1] of uncertain dating but probably in the late 1300s. As a suffix on a verb stem, first attested from 1927.[1]

• (Tokyo) なり​ [nàríꜜ] (Odaka – [2])[2]
• IPA^(key): [na̠ɾʲi]

The most common spelling for this use is なり, for all parts of speech.

形(なり) • (nari) 

1. [from 720] the shape or form of something
2. [from late 900s] one's clothing and appearance
3. [from mid 1600s] one's body shape or form
4. [from 1477] one's circumstances or situation
5. [from 1773] one's reputation
6. [from 1763] following the plain imperfective form (attributive form, 連体形 (​rentaikei)) or plain perfective form of a verb, indicates the state of the affixed verb or phrase: compare English just as

   人(ひと)々(びと)の言(い)うなりになった

   hitobito no iu nari ni natta

   things turned out just as people were saying

7. [from 1915] following the plain imperfective form (attributive form, 連体形 (​rentaikei)) of an adjective, indicates responding to the affixed adjective: compare English fitting

   寒(さむ)ければ寒(さむ)いなりの厚(あつ)着(ぎ)をする

   samukereba samui nari no atsugi o suru

   if it's cold, then put on warm clothing / if it's cold, then put on warm clothes for cold weather

8. [from 1928] following the plain imperfective form (attributive form, 連体形 (​rentaikei)) of a verb, indicates the moment of the action occurring: compare English as soon as

   断(ことわ)りを聞(き)くなり泣(な)き出(だ)した

   kotowari o kiku nari nakidashita

   she burst into tears as soon as she heard the rejection

形(なり) • (-nari) 

1. following the 連用形 (ren'yōkei, “continuative or stem form”) of a verb, indicates the state of the affixed verb or phrase: compare English just as

   人(ひと)々(びと)が言(い)いなりになった

   hitobito ga iinari ni natta

   things turned out just as people say

2. [from 1951] following a noun, indicates a state fitting or becoming to the affixed noun

   子(こ)供(ども)なりに想(そう)像(ぞう)する

   kodomo nari ni sōzō suru

   imagine in a way fitting for a child / imagine like a child (implies that the subject is a child)

   自(じ)分(ぶん)なりの判(はん)断(だん)

   jibun nari no handan

   my own kind of decision / deciding in my own way

3. [from late 1300s] following a noun, indicates that shape or form: compare English like

   弓(ゆみ)なりになる

   yumi nari ni naru

   to become bow-shaped / to become like a bow

From Middle Chinese 形 (MC ɦeŋ).

• (SK Standard/Seoul) IPA^(key): [çʌ̹ŋ]
• Phonetic hangul: [형]

Wikisource 形 (eumhun 모양 형 (moyang hyeong))

1. Hanja form^? of 형 (“form; shape”).

• 국제퇴계학회 대구경북지부 (國際退溪學會 大邱慶北支部) (2007). Digital Hanja Dictionary, 전자사전／電子字典.

形: Hán Nôm readings: hình, hềnh

1. image
2. a figure or a silhouette
3. (Southern Vietnam) a photo; a picture
4. (geometry) a shape
5. Clipping of hình học (“geometry”).