咔嚓 (kā chā) — (onomatopoeia) the sound of something breaking or snapping; (colloquial interjection) cut it out; stop it

Definition

Onomatopoeia for a sharp cracking/snapping sound (a branch breaking, glass cracking). Standalone, it can also be used as a colloquial 'cut it out!'

onomatopoeia
the sound of something breaking or snapping(colloquial interjection) cut it outstop it

Examples

  • 咔嚓，。
    kā chā Yī shēng, shù zhī duàn le.
    With a crack, the branch broke.
  • ，咔嚓。
    Tā cǎi dào kū yè, fā chū kā chā de shēng xiǎng.
    He stepped on dry leaves, making a crackling sound.
  • 咔嚓！，。
    kā chā! Bié nào le, ān jìng diǎn.
    Cut it out! Stop fooling around and be quiet.

Origin

Single-morpheme word
构词法gòucífǎ
拟声nǐshēngOnomatopoeia

The characters imitate a sound; their individual meanings play no part.

咔kǎ
嚓chā

咔 and 嚓 carry no meaning on their own here; together they imitate a snapping or cutting sound.

Sound-only characters

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

Open 咔 →

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

Open 嚓 →

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