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粗 (cū) — (of texture) rough, coarse; (of cylindrical objects) thick; (of behavior, speech, or attitude) rude, vulgar

Definition

Covers three senses: rough/coarse texture, thick (of cylindrical things like sticks), and rude/vulgar behavior. For 'rude manners' 粗鲁 is a more direct set phrase.

adjective
(of texture) roughcoarse(of cylindrical objects) thick(of behavior, speech, or attitude) rudevulgar
Easily confused

Examples

  • 粗。
    Zhè gēn kuài zi hěn cū.
    This chopstick is very thick.
  • 粗。
    Zhè ge shí tou de biǎo miàn hěn cū.
    The surface of this stone is rough.
  • ，。
    Tā de xíng wéi hěn cū lǔ, dà jiā dōu bù xǐ huan tā.
    His behavior is very rude, so everyone dislikes him.

Origin

Sound + meaning
六书liùshū
形声xíngshēng

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
米米mǐrice
Sound part声符shēngfú
且
且qiě粗cū
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

粗 pairs 米 (rice), which points to its meaning, with 且, which gives a clue to its sound.

Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 4Texture & QualitySize & Dimension5000 Most Frequent Chinese Words

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