animal hide

leather; to reform; to remove; to expel (from office)

a picture of 革 → an animal being skinned, hide stretched flat

The original oracle-bone form showed an animal stretched out with its hide being peeled away. From that raw, transformative act of stripping skin, the character extended naturally to the idea of radical change and removal.

廿

这双鞋是用真皮做的。

zhè shuāng xié shì yòng zhēn pí gé zuò de。

This pair of shoes is made from genuine leather.

政府决定对旧制度进行改

zhèngfǔ juédìng duì jiù zhìdù jìnxíng gǎigé。

The government decided to reform the old system.

Words with 革

金融改革

jīn róng gǎi gé

financial reform

镇压反革命运动

zhèn yā fǎn gé mìng yùn dòng

Campaign to Suppress Counterrevolutionaries (PRC political campaign from 1950-1952), abbr. to 鎮反運動|镇反运动[Zhen4 fan3 Yun4 dong4]

开革

kāi gé

to fire

革命先烈

gé mìng xiān liè

martyr to the revolution

革命家

gé mìng jiā

a revolutionary

革命性

gé mìng xìng

revolutionary

革命烈士

gé mìng liè shì

martyr of the revolution

革囊

gé náng

leather purse

革履

gé lǚ

leather (shoes)

革故鼎新

gé gù dǐng xīn

to discard the old and introduce the new (idiom); to innovate

革新

gé xīn

to innovate

革职

gé zhí

to sack

More characters with 廿