核 (hé) — pit, stone (of fruit); nucleus (of an atom or cell); core, kernel (figurative, often in 核心)
Definition
A compact, technical/abstract word for 'core' — used for the pit of a fruit, the nucleus of a cell/atom, and the figurative center of an issue. More technical than 核心 ('core' as a concept) and narrower than 心 ('heart/center' in general).
noun
pitstone (of fruit)nucleus (of an atom or cell)corekernel (figurative, often in 核心)
Measure word · 个
Easily confused
Examples
- ，核。Chī le táo zi yǐ hòu, bǎ hé rēng diào.After eating a peach, throw away the pit.
- 。Xì bāo hé kòng zhì zhe xì bāo de shēng zhǎng.The cell nucleus controls the cell's growth.
- 。Zhè ge wèn tí shì huì yì de hé xīn.This issue is the core of the meeting.
Origin
Sound + meaning六书liùshū
形声xíngshēngMost characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.
核 pairs 木, a tree, with 亥 to give its sound; it originally named a kind of tree, and its later meanings are borrowed.
Browse more HSK 7-9 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.