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立刻 (lì kè) — immediately, at once, right away

Definition

立刻 means 'immediately, right away' with no delay — stronger and more decisive than 马上. Use for instant reactions or urgent commands; 连忙 emphasizes a flustered response to a situation.

adverb
immediatelyat onceright away

Examples

  • ，立刻。
    Lǎo shī jìn lái shí, tóng xué men lì kè zhàn le qǐ lái.
    When the teacher came in, the students stood up immediately.
  • 立刻，。
    Nǐ lì kè gěi wǒ huí diàn huà, yǒu jí shì.
    Call me back immediately—there's an emergency.
  • 立刻。
    Tā lì kè yì shí dào zì jǐ fàn le cuò wù.
    He realized his mistake right away.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

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

立lìimmediately
刻kèmoment

立 and 刻 both point to an instant, so together they mean right away.

Characters in this word

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

立 pictures a person standing on the ground.

Open 立 →

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
刂Written in full as刀dāo
Sound part声符shēngfú
亥
亥hài刻kè
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

刻 is made of 刂, a form of 刀 (knife), and 亥, which gives the sound.

Open 刻 →
Appears in
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