倚靠 (yǐ kào) — to lean on / against (physically); to rely on / depend on

Definition

倚靠 (yǐkào) is a two-syllable verb covering both 'lean on/against' (a wall, a cane) and 'rely on / depend on' (a person, one's ability). More literary than 靠 alone, which is the everyday word for the same two meanings.

verb
to lean on / against (physically)to rely on / depend on

Examples

  • 倚靠。
    Tā yǐ kào zài qiáng shàng xiū xi le yí huì r.
    He leaned against the wall and rested for a while.
  • ，倚靠。
    Zài zhè ge kùn nan shí qī, wǒ men zhǐ néng yǐ kào zì jǐ.
    In this difficult time, we can only rely on ourselves.
  • 倚靠。
    Lǎo rén yǐ kào zhe guǎi zhàng màn màn wǎng qián zǒu.
    The old man walked slowly forward, leaning on his cane.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéSide by side

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

倚yǐlean on
靠kàolean on

倚 and 靠 both mean lean on, so the pair expresses leaning or depending.

Characters in this word

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
亻Written in full as人rén
Sound part声符shēngfú
奇
奇qí倚yǐ
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

倚 has 亻, a form of 人 (person), on the left and 奇 (qí) on the right; 奇 gives the sound.

Open 倚 →

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
非非fēi
Sound part声符shēngfú
告
告gào靠kào
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

靠 is made of 告 and 非: 告 gives the sound, and 非 gives the meaning.

Open 靠 →

Browse more HSK 7-9 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.