枯干 (kū gān) — dried-up, withered, wizened (of plants, skin, water sources)

Definition

Literary adjective meaning completely dried out and withered — used for plants, skin, and rivers/water sources in written or descriptive prose. Stronger and more poetic than everyday 干.

adjective
dried-upwitheredwizened (of plants, skin, water sources)

Examples

  • ，枯干。
    Dōng tiān dào le, shù shàng de yè zi dōu kū gān le.
    Winter has come, and the leaves on the trees are all withered.
  • 枯干。
    Tā de pí fū bèi fēng chuī dé kū gān kāi liè.
    His skin was dried and cracked by the wind.
  • 枯干，。
    Zhè tiáo hé yǐ jīng kū gān, hé chuáng lù le chū lái.
    This river has dried up, exposing the riverbed.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéSide by side

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

枯kūwithered
干gāndry

枯 means withered and 干 means dry, together describing something shriveled and parched.

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
木木mùtree
Sound part声符shēngfú
古
古gǔ枯kū
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

枯 pairs 木 (tree) with 古, which gives the sound.

Open 枯 →

The simplified 干 stands for more than one traditional character. In most words (饼干, 干杯) it is 乾; in others (干, 干活儿) (干扰) it is 幹 or 干.

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 乾; 干 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
乙乙yǐ
Sound part声符shēngfú
倝
倝gàn乾gān
Same sound today
Open 干 →

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