干渴 (gān kě) — parched, dry and thirsty (from dehydration or lack of water)

Definition

Stronger and more literary than 渴: emphasizes a body or land that has been dried out from lack of water over time. Often describes parched lips, throat, or drought-stricken soil, not a casual 'I'm thirsty'.

adjective
parcheddry and thirsty (from dehydration or lack of water)

Examples

  • ，干渴。
    Zǒu le zhěng zhěng yì tiān, tā gǎn dào shí fēn gān kě.
    After walking a whole day, he felt extremely parched.
  • 干渴，。
    Zhè piàn tǔ dì cháng qī gān kě, zhuāng jia dōu kū wěi le.
    This land has been parched for a long time, and the crops have withered.
  • 干渴，。
    Tā gān kě de zuǐ chún liè kāi le, jí xū hē shuǐ.
    His parched lips were cracked, and he urgently needed water.

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.

干gāndry
渴kěthirsty

干 gives dryness and 渴 gives thirst, together describing parchedness.

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
乙乙yǐ
Sound part声符shēngfú
倝
倝gàn乾gān
Same sound today
Open 干 →

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
氵Written in full as水shuǐwater
Sound part声符shēngfú
曷
曷hé渴kě
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

渴 combines 氵 (water) with 曷 giving the sound. The water part shows dryness or exhaustion of water.

Open 渴 →

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