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够呛 (gòu qiàng) — awful, unbearable, terrible (describes a situation that is hard to endure); unlikely, hardly possible (used before a verb to express doubt)

Definition

Colloquial 够呛 covers two related senses: a situation that's hard to endure (closer to 受不了 than to 可怕 or 糟糕), and, before a verb, 'hardly possible / unlikely'. Avoid the literary 难堪.

adjective
awfulunbearableterrible (describes a situation that is hard to endure)unlikelyhardly possible (used before a verb to express doubt)

Examples

  • 够呛，。
    Jīn tiān lèi dé gòu qiàng, bù xiǎng dòng le.
    I'm so exhausted today I can't move.
  • 够呛，。
    Tā gòu qiàng néng tōng guò kǎo shì, yīn wèi gēn běn méi fù xí.
    It's unlikely he'll pass the exam because he didn't review at all.
  • 够呛，。
    Zhè gōng zuò zhēn gòu qiàng, yì tiān jiā bān bā xiǎo shí.
    This job is awful — eight hours of overtime a day.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
补充bǔchōngVerb + complement

An action followed by its result or direction.

够gòuenough
呛qiàngto choke

够 (enough) and 呛 (to choke) suggest something enough to choke, hence unbearable.

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.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 夠; 够 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
多多duō
Sound part声符shēngfú
句
句jù夠gòu
Same sound today

In the traditional form 夠, 多 is the part tied to the meaning and 句 is the part that gives the sound; the simplified 够 is a later shorthand.

Open 够 →

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 嗆; 呛 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
口口kǒumouth
Sound part声符shēngfú
倉
倉cāng嗆qiāng
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 嗆 pairs 口 (mouth) with 倉, which gives the sound; the simplified 呛 is a shorthand, so its right side is not a sound part.

Open 呛 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9Good & Bad

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