干枯 (gān kū) — withered, shriveled, dried-up | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

Describes living things (plants, skin, lips) that have lost moisture and shriveled. 干燥 and 干旱 describe the dry climate/environment itself; 枯萎 is a near-synonym but emphasizes wilting, while 干枯 stresses the dried-out, shrunken state.

adjective

witheredshriveleddried-up

Examples

，干枯。
Yīn wèi méi yǒu shuǐ, yè zi jiàn jiàn gān kū le.
Because there was no water, the leaves gradually withered.
，干枯。
Tā hǎo jǐ tiān méi hē shuǐ, zuǐ chún biàn de shí fēn gān kū.
He hadn't drunk water for several days, and his lips became very chapped.
干枯。
Huā yuán lǐ de huā cǎo dōu gān kū le.
The flowers and grass in the garden have all withered.

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

联合liánhéCoordinate

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

枯kūwithered

干 (dry) and 枯 (withered) combine to mean dried up and shriveled.

Characters in this word

The simplified 干 stands for more than one traditional character. In most words (饼干, 干杯) it is 乾; in others (干, 干活儿) (干扰) it is 幹 or 干.

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 乾; 干 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú

Sound part声符shēngfú

倝

倝gàn乾gān

Same sound today

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

木古枯

Meaning part形符xíngfú

木木mùtree

Sound part声符shēngfú

古

古gǔ枯kū

Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

枯 pairs 木 (tree) with 古, which gives the sound.

Appears in

HSK 3.0 Level 7-9

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