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可恶 (kě wù) — hateful, despicable, abominable

Definition

可恶 (kě è) expresses personal moral disgust at someone's behavior — 'despicable, hateful'. Stronger and more emotionally charged than 恶劣 (conditions/conduct); 卑鄙 focuses on mean scheming rather than moral outrage.

adjective
hatefuldespicableabominable

Examples

  • 可恶。
    Zhè zhǒng jiàn lì wàng yì de rén zhēn shì tài kě wù le.
    People who forget their principles for profit are really despicable.
  • ，可恶！
    Nǐ jìng rán zuò chū zhè zhǒng shì qing, jiǎn zhí kě wù!
    How could you do something like this — it's simply abominable!
  • 可恶。
    Nà zhī kě wù de wén zi yì zhí zài ěr biān wēng wēng jiào.
    That annoying mosquito kept buzzing right by my ear.

Origin

Derived word
构词法gòucífǎ
前缀qiánzhuìPrefix

A fixed syllable in front that adds a shade of meaning but carries none of its own.

可kěworthy of
恶èhate

可 suggests deserving hatred, and 恶 means to hate, so the whole describes something repulsive.

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
口口kǒu
Sound part声符shēngfú
丂
丂kǎo可kě
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

可 pairs 口 (mouth) with 丂 as a sound part; it is tied to air from the mouth, perhaps singing.

Open 可 →

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 惡; 恶 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
心心xīnheart
Sound part声符shēngfú
亞
亞yā惡è
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 惡 pairs 心 (heart) as the meaning part with 亞 (yā) as the sound part; the simplified 恶 is a later shorthand.

Open 恶 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9HSK 2.0 Level 6Emotions & FeelingsGood & Bad5000 Most Frequent Chinese Words

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