肯 (kěn): willing
肯 (kěn) is a Chinese character meaning “willing.” Classified as HSK Level 4 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of 止 (structural) and ⺼ (structural). It ranks #860 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).
Etymologically derived, 肯 to stop 止 flexing one's muscles ⺼. Its radical form 月 (moon) appears in many related characters such as 月 (yuè, moon, month), 有 (yǒu, to have), 朋 (péng, friend).
Definitions
- willing
Etymology & Origin
ideographicTo stop 止 flexing one's muscles ⺼
Decomposition: ⿱止⺼ (layout: top-bottom)
Stroke Order
Practice writing 肯 with real-time feedback — trace each stroke in the correct order and build muscle memory in the HanziFeed app.
Words & Compounds
HSK Vocabulary with 肯
Common Compounds
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 林肯proper-noun | lín kěn | Lincoln (name) |
| 肯尼迪proper-noun | kěn ní dí | Kennedy (name) |
| 肯塔基proper-noun | kěn tǎ jī | Kentucky, US state |
| 肯特proper-noun | kěn tè | Kent (English county) |
| 肯尼亚proper-noun | kěn ní yà | Kenya |
| 肯德基proper-noun | kěn dé jī | KFC (Kentucky Fried Chicken) |
| 阿肯色proper-noun | ā kěn sè | Arkansas, US state |
| 宁肯adverb | nìng kěn | would rather... |
| 中肯adjective | zhòng kěn | pertinent |
| 首肯verb | shǒu kěn | to give a nod of approval |
| 肯亚proper-noun | kěn yà | (Tw) Kenya |
| 林肯郡 | lín kěn jùn | Lincolnshire (English county) |
| 杰奎琳·肯尼迪 | jié kuí lín · kěn ní dí | Jacqueline Onassis Kennedy (1929-1994) |
| 麦肯锡 | mài kěn xī | (name) MacKenzie |
| 阿肯色大学 | ā kěn sè dà xué | University of Arkansas |
肯 appears in 28 compound words: 43 as the first character, 18 as the last, and 39 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 肯 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.
Example Sentences
他肯接受这个挑战，说明他对自己的能力有信心。
Tā kěn jiēshòu zhè gè tiǎozhàn, shuōmíng tā duì zìjǐ de nénglì yǒu xìnxīn.
His willingness to accept this challenge shows he has confidence in his abilities.
...力100强” 信义房屋制度化减碳连三度受肯定
. . . lì 1 0 0 qiáng xìn yì fáng wū zhì dù huà jiǎn tàn lián sān dù shòu kěn dìng
... The "Top 100" Xinyi Housing Institutionalized Carbon Reduction has been affirmed for three consecutive times
參訪鉅祥企業 張善政肯定助力強化桃園AI供應鏈
參 訪 鉅 xiáng qǐ 業 張 shàn zhèng kěn dìng zhù lì 強 huà táo 園 gōng 應 鏈
Visiting Juxiang Enterprise, Chang San-cheng Affirms Support for Strengthening Taoyuan's AI Supply Chain
...全球永續年鑑 中信金落實 SDGs 國際肯定
. . . quán qiú yǒng 續 nián 鑑 zhōng xìn jīn luò 實 國 際 kěn dìng
Global Sustainability Yearbook: CTBC Financial Group's Implementation of SDGs Gains International Recognition
橫跨東西非 周大觀基金會頒生命獎章肯定人權行動者
橫 kuà 東 xī fēi zhōu dà 觀 jī jīn 會 頒 shēng mìng 獎 zhāng kěn dìng rén 權 háng 動 zhě
Across East and West Africa Chow Tai Kwan Foundation Recognizes Human Rights Activists with Medal of Life Award
...譽觀護人提供曾經毒販第二人生 獲廚藝大獎肯定
. . . 譽 觀 護 rén tí gōng céng 經 dú 販 dì èr rén shēng 獲 廚 藝 dà 獎 kěn dìng
... Honorary Caregiver Offers Former Drug Dealer a Second Life, Recognized with Cooking Award
林肯反对奴隶制度。
Línkěn fǎnduì núlìzhìdù.
Lincoln was opposed to slavery.
肯尼亚曾经是英国的殖民地。
Kěnníyà céngjīng shì Yīngguó de zhímíndì.
Kenya used to be a British colony.
亚伯拉罕·林肯是名人。
Yàbólāhǎn · Línkěn shì míngrén.
Abraham Lincoln is a famous person.
林肯总统接受了邀请。
Línkěn zǒngtǒng jiēshòu le yāoqǐng.
President Lincoln accepted the invitation.
Character Family
Frequently Asked Questions
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Is 肯 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
Practice writing 肯 with real-time feedback
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