恳求 (kěn qiú) — to beg, to entreat (earnestly) | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

恳求 means 'to beg, entreat' someone sincerely — stronger and more earnest than 求. Compare 哀求 (plead in desperation) and 乞求 (implore humbly).

verb

to begto entreat (earnestly)

Examples

恳求。
Wǒ kěn qiú tā zài gěi wǒ yí cì jī huì.
I begged him to give me another chance.
恳求。
Tā liú zhe yǎn lèi kěn qiú fù mǔ yuán liàng tā.
She begged her parents to forgive her with tears.
恳求，。
Tā kěn qiú le bàn tiān, lǎo bǎn zhōng yú dā ying le.
He begged for a long time, and the boss finally agreed.

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.

恳kěnearnest

The sense of 恳, earnest or heartfelt, together with 求, to seek or ask, gives the idea of asking someone with deep sincerity.

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 懇; 恳 is its simplified writing.

貇心懇

Meaning part形符xíngfú

心心xīnheart

Sound part声符shēngfú

貇

貇kěn懇kěn

Same sound today

The traditional form 懇 pairs 貇, which gives the pronunciation, with 心 (heart); the simplified 恳 is a shorthand.

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

求 began as a drawing of a centipede.

Appears in

HSK 3.0 Level 7-9 Communication & Speech

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