嗑 (kē) — to crack (seeds) between one's teeth
Definition
嗑 (kē) is used only in the verb-object compound 嗑瓜子 — you cannot use 嗑 alone, and the object must be something hard-shelled you crack with your teeth.
bound form
to crack (seeds) between one's teeth
Easily confused
- 磕kēlook-aliketo knock, to tap (against sth hard)
- 颗kēsound-alike(classifier) for small roundish objects such as pearls, grains, teeth, hearts, stars, satellites
- 科kēsound-alike(noun) subject, discipline, field of study
- 棵kēsound-alike(classifier) for trees, cabbages, plants, and other growing vegetation
- 柯kēsound-alike(bound form) branch (in literary or botanical compounds)
- 苛kēsound-alikesevere, exacting (bound form; occurs in compounds such as 苛刻, 苛求)
Examples
- 嗑。Tā xǐ huan yì biān kàn diàn shì yì biān kē guā zǐ.He likes to crack sunflower seeds while watching TV.
- 嗑，。Zhè xiē guā zǐ hěn nán kē, ké tài yìng le.These seeds are hard to crack, the shell is too hard.
- 嗑，。Tā kē le yí xià wǔ de guā zǐ, zuǐ dōu lèi le.She cracked seeds all afternoon, and her mouth is tired.
Appears in
Browse more HSK 7-9 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.