登

• Physical ascent: Climbing (e.g., mountains, ladders) or boarding/embarking (e.g., stepping into a carriage or onto a boat).
• Social and political attainment: Ascending to rank or office (e.g., ascending a throne 登基) or achieving official recognition through examinations (登科).
• Agricultural maturity: Crops ripening or reaching fruition for harvest.

Typically transitive, though it can function intransitively when the destination is implied by context.

Unlike 攀 (pān), which suggests a slow or clutching climb, 登 emphasizes the movement of stepping up or the result of having reached a summit or goal.

// Tang-period reading: //dəng.

• Semantic variant: U+8C4B.

The glyph generally emphasizes the act of stepping up or the successful arrival at a higher point, rather than the arduous process of climbing.