苛 (kē) — severe, exacting (bound form; occurs in compounds such as 苛刻, 苛求)
Definition
苛 (kē) is a bound morpheme meaning 'harsh, exacting' — it never stands alone but combines into compounds like 苛刻 ('harsh') and 苛求 ('to demand excessively').
bound form
severeexacting (bound form; occurs in compounds such as 苛刻, 苛求)
Easily confused
- 奇jīlook-alike(classifier) odd number (used after a number to count odd numbers)
- 颗kēsound-alike(classifier) for small roundish objects such as pearls, grains, teeth, hearts, stars, satellites
- 可kělook-alike(adverb) used for emphasis: really, certainly, very
- 科kēsound-alike(noun) subject, discipline, field of study
- 棵kēsound-alike(classifier) for trees, cabbages, plants, and other growing vegetation
- 嗑kēsound-aliketo crack (seeds) between one's teeth
Examples
- 。Tā duì yuán gōng de yāo qiú fēi cháng kē kè.He is very harsh in his demands on employees.
- 。Jiā zhǎng bú yīng gāi kē qiú hái zi.Parents should not demand too much of their children.
- 。Zhè zhǒng kē kè de tiáo jiàn ràng rén wú fǎ jiē shòu.Such harsh conditions are unacceptable.
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.
Meaning part形符xíngfú
艹Written in full as艸cǎo
The shape 苛 pairs 艹 (grass) with 可 (kě), which gives the sound.
Appears in
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