TongTong
Sign in

刻意 (kè yì) — deliberately, intentionally (with conscious choice, often negative nuance); painstakingly, meticulously (with careful effort)

Definition

刻意 highlights conscious, effortful intent — often overdone or artificial, more so than 故意 or 特意. Pairs with effort/avoidance (刻意避免, 刻意思考), where 苦心 stresses the hardship of the effort itself.

adverb
deliberatelyintentionally (with conscious choice, often negative nuance)painstakinglymeticulously (with careful effort)

Examples

  • 。
    Tā shuō huà shí kè yì bì miǎn tí dào nà jiàn shì.
    He deliberately avoided mentioning that matter when speaking.
  • 刻意，。
    Zhè jiàn zuò pǐn shì kè yì zuò chū lái de, měi yí gè xì jié dōu hěn wán měi.
    This piece of work was made painstakingly; every detail is perfect.
  • 刻意，。
    Bù xū yào kè yì qù gǎi biàn zì jǐ, zuò zhēn shí de nǐ jiù hǎo.
    You don't need to deliberately change yourself; just be your true self.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

刻kèdeliberate
意yìintention

刻 means 'deliberate' and 意 means 'intention', so together they express 'deliberately, intentionally'.

Characters in this word

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
刂Written in full as刀dāo
Sound part声符shēngfú
亥
亥hài刻kè
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

刻 is made of 刂, a form of 刀 (knife), and 亥, which gives the sound.

Open 刻 →

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

Open 意 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9Will & Intention

Browse more HSK 7-9 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.