刻 (kè): quarter (hour), moment, to carve
刻 (kè) is a Chinese character meaning “quarter (hour).” Classified as HSK Level 3 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of 亥 (phonetic) and 刂 (semantic). It ranks #618 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).
Etymologically derived, 刻 knife. Its radical form 刂 (knife) appears in many related characters such as 分 (fēn, to divide), 别 (bié, to leave), 到 (dào, to reach).
Definitions
- quarter (hour)
- moment
- to carve
Etymology & Origin
Stroke Order
Practice writing 刻 with real-time feedback — trace each stroke in the correct order and build muscle memory in the HanziFeed app.
Words & Compounds
HSK Vocabulary with 刻
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | HSK |
|---|---|---|---|
| 时刻noun/adverb | shí kè | time | 5 |
| 立刻adverb | lì kè | immediately | 5 |
| 深刻adjective | shēn kè | profound | 5 |
| 此刻noun | cǐ kè | this moment | 6 |
| 片刻noun | piàn kè | short period of time | 6 |
Common Compounds
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 刻薄 | kè bó | unkind |
| 此时此刻 | cǐ shí cǐ kè | at this very moment |
| 苛刻 | kē kè | harsh |
| 刻意 | kè yì | intentionally |
| 每时每刻 | měi shí měi kè | at all times |
| 无时无刻 | wú shí wú kè | (idiom) (when followed by 不[bu4]) at no time |
| 即刻 | jí kè | immediately |
| 雕刻 | diāo kè | to carve |
| 时时刻刻 | shí shí kè kè | at all times |
| 刻苦 | kè kǔ | hardworking |
| 尖刻 | jiān kè | caustic |
| 时刻表 | shí kè biǎo | timetable |
| 刻画 | kè huà | to portray |
| 刻骨铭心 | kè gǔ míng xīn | lit. carved in bones and engraved in the heart (idiom) |
| 刻度 | kè dù | marked scale |
刻 appears in 78 compound words: 42 as the first character, 40 as the last, and 18 in a middle position. Compound statistics computed from SUBTLEX-CH and HSK 3.0 vocabulary data.
Strongest Collocations
Characters that most frequently co-occur with 刻 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.
Idioms & Chengyu (16)
lit. fine sculpting (idiom); fig. to work (at sth) with extreme care and precision
stereotype (conventional, formulaic, and oversimplified conception, opinion, or image)
Showing 12 of 16 idioms containing 刻.
Example Sentences
刻字在不同的语境中有不同的用法。
kè zì zài bù tóng de yǔ jìng zhōng yǒu bù tóng de yòng fǎ .
Engraving has different usages in different contexts.
ASML推EUV光刻机新技术 2030年芯片产量增50%
A S M L tuī E U V guāng kè jī xīn jì shù 2 0 3 0 nián xīn piàn chǎn liàng zēng 5 0
ASML pushes new EUV lithography machine technology to increase chip production by 50% in 2030
敏感时刻...习近平致电金正恩 巩固中朝关系
mǐn gǎn shí kè . . . xí jìn píng zhì diàn jīn zhèng ēn gǒng gù zhōng cháo guān xì
Sensitive moments... Xi Jinping called Kim Jong-un to consolidate China-North Korea relations
敏感时刻 习致电金正恩 巩固中朝关系
mǐn gǎn shí kè xí zhì diàn jīn zhèng ēn gǒng gù zhōng cháo guān xì
Sensitive moment Xi called Kim Jong-un to consolidate China-North Korea relations
夜王—杨偲泳性感镜头疑遭刻意删减 公开绝密福利照凭歌寄意回应
yè wáng — yáng 偲 yǒng xìng gǎn jìng tóu yí zāo kè yì shān jiǎn gōng kāi jué mì fú lì zhào píng gē jì yì huí yīng
Night King - Yang Siyong's sexy footage is suspected of being deliberately deleted, and the public top-secret welfare photos respond with songs
蓝白喊关税重启谈判昔前功尽弃 他批刻意渲染恐慌
lán bái hǎn guān shuì chóng qǐ tán pàn xī qián gōng jǐn qì tā pī kè yì 渲 rǎn kǒng huāng
Blue and white shouted tariffs to restart negotiations, and his criticism deliberately exaggerated panic
我可以有张公车的时刻表吗？
Wǒ kěyǐ yǒu zhāng gōngchē de shíkèbiǎo ma?
May I have a bus schedule?
我们终于见面了！我等这一刻等了好久了。
Wǒmen zhōngyú jiànmiàn le! wǒděng zhè yī kè děng le hǎojiǔ le.
So, we finally meet! I've waited so long for this moment.
我每时每刻都在为你而活。
Wǒ měishí-měikè dōu zài wèi nǐ ér huó.
I live every moment for you.
他在枪每时每刻有子弹。
Tā zài qiāng měishíměikè yǒu zǐdàn.
He keeps this gun loaded.
Character Family
Frequently Asked Questions
What does 刻 (kè) mean in Chinese?
What's the difference between 刻 and 该?
How many strokes does 刻 have?
What is the radical of 刻?
What are the components of 刻?
What are common words containing 刻?
What characters sound the same as 刻 (kè)?
Is 刻 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
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