渴 (kě): thirsty
渴 (kě) is a Chinese character meaning “thirsty.” Classified as HSK Level 3 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of 氵 (semantic) and 曷 (phonetic). It ranks #1945 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).
Etymologically derived, 渴 water. Its radical form 氵 (water) appears in many related characters such as 水 (shuǐ, water), 汉 (hàn, Han ethnic group), 汽 (qì, steam).
Definitions
- thirsty
Etymology & Origin
Stroke Order
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Words & Compounds
HSK Vocabulary with 渴
Common Compounds
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 饥渴 | jī kě | hungry and thirsty |
| 口渴 | kǒu kě | thirsty |
| 渴求 | kě qiú | to long for |
| 如饥似渴 | rú jī sì kě | to hunger for sth (idiom) |
| 解渴 | jiě kě | to quench |
| 干渴 | gān kě | parched |
| 远水不解近渴 | yuǎn shuǐ bù jiě jìn kě | lit. distant water does not cure present thirst |
| 爱才若渴 | ài cái ruò kě | (idiom) to be eager to surround oneself with talented people |
| 渴不可耐 | kě bù kě nài | to be so thirsty as to no longer be able to tolerate it |
| 望梅止渴 | wàng méi zhǐ kě | lit. to quench one's thirst by thinking of plums (idiom) |
| 消渴 | xiāo kě | condition characterized by thirst, hunger, frequent urination and weight loss, identified in TCM with type 2 diabetes |
| 临渴穿井 | lín kě chuān jǐng | lit. face thirst and dig a well (idiom) |
| 求贤若渴 | qiú xián ruò kě | (idiom) to eagerly seek talented people |
| 充饥止渴 | chōng jī zhǐ kě | to allay one's hunger and slake one's thirst (idiom) |
| 饮鸩止渴 | yǐn zhèn zhǐ kě | lit. drinking poison in the hope of quenching one's thirst (idiom) |
渴 appears in 18 compound words: 22 as the first character, 67 as the last, and 11 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 渴 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.
Idioms & Chengyu (7)
lit. face thirst and dig a well (idiom); fig. not to make adequate provision; to act when it is too late
to fail to make a timely preparation and look for a solution at the last minute
Example Sentences
在高温环境下工作，工人们很容易口渴，需要经常补充水分。
Zài gāowēn huánjìng xià gōngzuò, gōngrénmen hěn róngyì kǒukě, xūyào jīngcháng bǔchōng shuǐfèn.
Working in high-temperature environments, workers easily get thirsty and need to replenish water frequently.
《十四岁的小舞者》:她用孤独和对自由的渴望,对抗世界
shí sì suì de xiǎo wǔ zhě : tā yòng gū dú hé duì zì yóu de kě wàng , duì kàng shì jiè
清明雨神助攻缓解竹科渴 宝山、宝二水库进帐逾205万吨水
qīng míng yǔ shén zhù gōng huǎn jiě zhú kē kě bǎo shān , bǎo èr shuǐ kù jìn zhàng yú 2 0 5 wàn dūn shuǐ
...曝好消息:下周春雨讯号转明显 中部水库止渴
. . . pù hǎo xiāo xī : xià zhōu chūn yǔ xùn hào zhuǎn míng xiǎn zhōng bù shuǐ kù zhǐ kě
...Good news: Signs of spring rain will become more pronounced next week, providing much-needed relief for reservoirs in central regions
如何引起女人的渴望？
Rúhé yǐnqǐ nǚrén de kěwàng?
How to arouse a woman's desire?
你有没有什么喝的给我解渴吗？
Nǐ yǒuméiyǒu shénme hē de gěi wǒ jiěkě ma?
Do you have a drink to help quench my thirst?
世界所有人都渴望和平。
Shìjiè suǒyǒu rén dōu kěwàng hépíng.
All the world desires peace.
我喝水因为我渴了。
Wǒ hē shuǐ yīnwèi wǒ kě le.
I drink water because I am thirsty.
大家都渴望知道前冠军得主发生了什么。
Dàjiā dōu kěwàng zhīdào qiánguān jūn dézhǔ fāshēng le shénme.
Everyone is anxious to know what has become of the former champion.
我渴死了，可能是因为我昨天晚上吃了比萨。
Wǒ kě sǐ le, kěnéng shì yīnwèi wǒ zuótiān wǎnshang chī le bǐsà.
I am so thirsty, probably because I ate pizza yesterday night.
Character Family
Frequently Asked Questions
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What characters sound the same as 渴 (kě)?
Is 渴 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
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