再

Core sense is repetition. This may manifest as a general recurrence ("again") or a specific count ("twice" or "a second time").

Primarily occurs adverbially before the verb. May also function as a quantifier meaning "another" or "an additional."

• Numerical vs. Indefinite: In early legal, ritual, or administrative contexts, the glyph often denotes a specific count ("twice") rather than general repetition.
• 再 vs. 又: 再 tends to be prospective (an action intended or about to happen again), whereas 又 is typically retrospective or habitual (an action that has already recurred). This distinction is most acute in early texts and softens by the Tang period.
• 再 vs. 重: 再 typically refers to a discrete instance of recurrence; 重 implies layering, duplication, or the restarting of a process from the beginning.

The glyph is stable; there are no significant variants that alter the lexical understanding of the symbol in standard classical contexts.