切 (qiē): to cut, to slice, to carve, (math) tangential, definitely, absolutely (not)
切 (qiē) is a Chinese character meaning “to cut.” Classified as HSK Level 4 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of 七 (phonetic) and 刀 (semantic). It ranks #337 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).
Etymologically derived, 切 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
- to cut
- to slice
- to carve
- (math) tangential
- definitely
- absolutely (not)
Etymology & Origin
Stroke Order
Practice writing 切 with real-time feedback — trace each stroke in the correct order and build muscle memory in the HanziFeed app.
Words & Compounds
HSK Vocabulary with 切
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | HSK |
|---|---|---|---|
| 一切pronoun | yī qiè | everything | 4 |
| 密切adjective/verb | mì qiè | close | 5 |
| 亲切adjective | qīn qiè | amiable | 5 |
| 迫切adjective | pò qiè | urgent | 6 |
| 急切adjective | jí qiè | eager | 6 |
| 切实adjective | qiè shí | feasible | 6 |
Common Compounds
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 确切 | què qiè | definite |
| 切断 | qiē duàn | to cut off |
| 切除 | qiē chú | to excise |
| 切割 | qiē gē | to cut |
| 切尔西 | qiè ěr xī | (name) Chelsea |
| 切口 | qiē kǒu | incision |
| 切片 | qiē piàn | to slice |
| 切换 | qiē huàn | to switch over |
| 深切 | shēn qiè | deeply felt |
| 切入 | qiē rù | to cut into |
| 热切 | rè qiè | fervent |
| 真切 | zhēn qiè | vivid |
| 贴切 | tiē qiè | close-fitting |
| 切记 | qiè jì | remember at all costs |
| 切尼 | qiē ní | Cheney (name) |
切 appears in 100 compound words: 59 as the first character, 35 as the last, and 6 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 切 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.
Idioms & Chengyu (13)
to hit home on the evils of the day (idiom); fig. to hit a current political target; to hit the nub of the matter
Showing 11 of 13 idioms containing 切.
Example Sentences
学习切字需要反复练习，才能写得工整。
xué xí qiē zì xū yāo fǎn fù liàn xí , cái néng xiě dé gōng zhěng .
Mastering the art of cutting characters requires repeated practice to achieve neat and precise results.
消息:暂停电动车首次登记税宽减非一刀切 有信心无碍政策目标
xiāo xī : zàn tíng diàn dòng chē shǒu cì dēng jì shuì kuān jiǎn fēi yī dāo qiē yǒu xìn xīn wú ài zhèng cè mù biāo
News: The suspension of the first registration tax for electric vehicles is not one-size-fits-all, and I am confident that it will not hinder the policy goal
密宗灌顶变性骚! 佛大硕生被仁波切狂摸下体:在吸收秽气
mì zōng guàn dǐng biàn xìng sāo ! fó dà shuò shēng bèi rén bō qiē kuáng mō xià tǐ : zài xī shōu huì qì
Tantric empowerment transsexuality! The Buddha Da Shuo Sheng was wildly touched by Rinpoche's lower body: absorbing the filthy air
OpenAI切入实体AI市场 鸿海有望通吃大单
O p e n A I qiē rù shí tǐ A I shì chǎng 鸿 hǎi yǒu wàng tōng chī dà dān
OpenAI cuts into the physical AI market Hon Hai is expected to take all the big orders
挺不住了?印度急切“从中国进口”
tǐng bù zhù le ? yìn dù jí qiē cóng zhōng guó jìn kǒu
Can't hold on? India is eager to "import from China"
玛莉既聪明又亲切。
Mǎ lì jì cōngming yòu qīnqiè.
Mary is both intelligent and kind.
约翰和苏最后决定把苹果切成两半。
Yuēhàn hé sū zuì hòu juédìng bǎ píngguǒ qiēchéng liǎng bàn.
At last, John and Sue decided to cut the apple into halves.
供应和需求之间的关系十分密切。
Gōngyìng hé xūqiú zhījiān de guānxi shífēn mìqiè.
There is close relationship between supply and demand.
三次测量，一次切除。
Sāncì cèliáng, yīcì qiēchú.
Measure thrice, cut once.
你必须忍受这一切的噪音了。
Nǐ bìxū rěnshòu zhè yīqiè de zàoyīn le.
You have to put up with all this noise.
Character Family
刂 Radical Family — Characters sharing the knife radical
Frequently Asked Questions
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What characters sound the same as 切 (qiē)?
Is 切 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
Practice writing 切 with real-time feedback
Trace stroke sequences, hear native pronunciation, and build lasting retention with spaced repetition in the HanziFeed app.