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喀嚓 (kā cā) — (onomatopoeic verb) to snap; to break with a cracking sound

Definition

Onomatopoeia for a sharp cracking or snapping sound (a branch breaking, glass shattering). It can also be used as a verb meaning 'to snap' or 'to break with a crack'.

verb
(onomatopoeic verb) to snapto break with a cracking sound

Examples

  • 喀嚓。
    Shù zhī bèi fēng chuī dé kā cā yì shēng duàn le.
    The branch was blown by the wind and snapped with a crack.
  • ，喀嚓。
    Tā yòng lì yì zhé, kā cā bǎ mù gùn zhé duàn le.
    He exerted force and snapped the stick with a crack.
  • 喀嚓。
    Nà kuài bō li kā cā suì chéng le jǐ piàn.
    That piece of glass shattered into several pieces with a crack.

Origin

Single-morpheme word
构词法gòucífǎ
拟声nǐshēngOnomatopoeia

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

喀kā
嚓chā

喀 and 嚓 imitate a snapping sound; they have no meaning of their own here.

Sound-only characters

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
口口kǒumouth
Sound part声符shēngfú
客
客kè喀kā
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

喀 pairs 口 (mouth) with 客, which gives the sound. The mouth part shows it is a sound made by the mouth.

Open 喀 →

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

Open 嚓 →
Appears in
Senses

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