枯 (kū): (of plants) withered, (of wells, rivers etc) dried up, (bound form) dull, boring
枯 (kū) is a Chinese character meaning “(of plants) withered.” Classified as HSK Level 6 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of 木 (structural) and 古 (structural). It ranks #2140 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).
Etymologically derived, 枯 an old 古 tree 木; 古 also provides the pronunciation. Its radical form 木 (tree) appears in many related characters such as 本 (běn, (bound form) root), 机 (jī, machine, opportunity), 条 (tiáo, strip).
Definitions
- (of plants) withered
- (of wells, rivers etc) dried up
- (bound form) dull
- boring
Etymology & Origin
ideographicAn old 古 tree 木; 古 also provides the pronunciation
Decomposition: ⿰木古 (layout: left-right)
Stroke Order
Practice writing 枯 with real-time feedback — trace each stroke in the correct order and build muscle memory in the HanziFeed app.
Words & Compounds
HSK Vocabulary with 枯
Common Compounds
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 枯萎 | kū wěi | to wilt |
| 枯竭 | kū jié | used up |
| 干枯 | gān kū | withered |
| 枯死 | kū sǐ | (of a plant) to wither and die |
| 海枯石烂 | hǎi kū shí làn | lit. until the seas dry up and stones go soft (idiom) |
| 枯干 | kū gān | dried up |
| 枯叶 | kū yè | dead leaf |
| 枯树 | kū shù | withered tree |
| 枯槁 | kū gǎo | (of vegetation) withered |
| 巴枯宁主义 | bā kū níng zhǔ yì | Bakuninism, the political and social theories associated with the Russian revolutionary and anarchist Mikhail Bakunin... |
| 枯水期 | kū shuǐ qī | dry season |
| 百草枯 | bǎi cǎo kū | paraquat |
| 枯草热 | kū cǎo rè | hay fever |
| 枯水 | kū shuǐ | scarce water |
| 神枯 | shén kū | spiritual desolation |
枯 appears in 29 compound words: 72 as the first character, 10 as the last, and 17 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 枯 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.
Idioms & Chengyu (5)
Example Sentences
这片森枯里生活着许多珍稀的野生动物。
zhè piān sēn kū lǐ shēng huó zhe xǔ duō zhēn xī de yě shēng dòng wù .
This forest is home to many rare and endangered wildlife species.
台中大雨大坑9号步道枯树倒下砸摊架 幸无人伤
tái zhōng dà yǔ dà kēng 9 hào bù dào kū shù dǎo xià zá tān jià xìng wú rén shāng
水利部长江委:今年汛期长江流域来水量偏枯
shuǐ lì bù cháng jiāng wěi : jīn nián xùn qī cháng jiāng liú yù lái shuǐ liàng piān kū
审慎因应枯水期用水 台中亮出水情提醒绿灯、新竹维持...
shěn shèn yīn yīng kū shuǐ qī yòng shuǐ tái zhōng liàng chū shuǐ qíng tí xǐng lǜ dēng , xīn zhú wéi chí . . .
Taking a Prudent Approach to Water Use During the Dry Season: Taichung Issues a "Green Light" Water Alert, While Hsinchu Maintains...
头发|冇染发但头发变枯黄开岔?恐用风筒常洗头习惯出事!医生揭4...
tóu fā 冇 rǎn fā dàn tóu fā biàn kū huáng kāi chà ? kǒng yòng fēng tǒng cháng xǐ tóu xí guàn chū shì ! yī shēng jiē 4 . . .
Hair | Not Dyeing Your Hair, But It’s Still Dry, Dull, and Split-Ended? Your Habits of Frequent Hair Washing and Blow-Drying Might Be to Blame! A Doctor Reveals 4...
鄱阳湖水位突破8米极枯水位 预计未来一段时期呈波动上涨态势
鄱 yáng hú shuǐ wèi tū pò 8 mǐ jí kū shuǐ wèi yù jì wèi lái yī duàn shí qī chéng bō dòng shàng zhǎng tài shì
The water level of Poyang Lake exceeded 8 meters of extremely dry water level, and it is expected to fluctuate and rise in the coming period
鲜花因缺水而枯萎
Xiānhuā yīn quēshuǐ ér kūwěi
The flowers withered for want of water.
一片枯叶落到了地上。
Yī piàn kūyè luò dào le dìshang.
A dead leaf fell to the ground.
所有花园里的花朵都枯萎了。
Suǒyǒu huāyuán lǐ de huāduǒ dōu kūwěi le.
All the flowers in the garden withered.
那些花已经枯死了。
Nàxiē huā yǐjīng kū sǐ le.
Those flowers have died.
Character Family
Frequently Asked Questions
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What characters sound the same as 枯 (kū)?
Is 枯 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
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