却 (què): but, yet, however
却 (què) is a Chinese character meaning “but.” Classified as HSK Level 4 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of 去 (phonetic) and 卩 (semantic). It ranks #287 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).
Etymologically derived, 却 seal. Its radical form 卩 (seal) appears in many related characters such as 印 (yìn, abbr. for 印度, India), 卫 (wèi, vassal state during the Zhou Dynasty (1066–221 BC), located in present-day Henan and Hebei Provinces), 危 (wēi, danger).
Definitions
- but
- yet
- however
Etymology & Origin
Stroke Order
Practice writing 却 with real-time feedback — trace each stroke in the correct order and build muscle memory in the HanziFeed app.
Words & Compounds
Common Compounds
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 冷却 | lěng què | to cool (lit. and fig.) |
| 忘却 | wàng què | to forget |
| 退却 | tuì què | to retreat |
| 冷却剂 | lěng què jì | coolant |
| 了却 | liǎo què | to resolve |
| 冷却塔 | lěng què tǎ | cooling tower |
| 望而却步 | wàng ér què bù | lit. to shrink back at the sight of (sth daunting) (idiom) |
| 却步 | què bù | to step back |
| 省却 | shěng què | to save |
| 情不可却 | qíng bù kě què | unable to refuse because of affection |
| 了却此生 | liǎo què cǐ shēng | to live out one's life |
| 却是 | què shì | nevertheless |
| 却才 | què cái | just now |
| 却病 | què bìng | to prevent or treat a disease |
| 冷却水 | lěng què shuǐ | cooling water (in a reactor) |
却 appears in 21 compound words: 29 as the first character, 43 as the last, and 29 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 却 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.
Idioms & Chengyu (2)
Example Sentences
这个却字在古汉语中有不同的含义。
zhè gě què zì zài gǔ hàn yǔ zhōng yǒu bù tóng de hán yì .
The character "却" carries different meanings in classical Chinese.
吃很少却瘦不下来?营养师揭真相:恐害体重暴走
chī hěn shǎo què shòu bù xià lái ? yíng yǎng shī jiē zhēn xiāng : kǒng hài tǐ chóng bào zǒu
Eat very little but can't lose weight? Nutritionist reveals the truth: fear of weight loss
故障频出 黄金海岸大学停用头皮冷却设备
gù zhàng pín chū huáng jīn hǎi àn dà xué tíng yòng tóu pí lěng què shè bèi
Frequent breakdowns Gold Coast University stops scalp cooling equipment
饭店一晚6000 大厅却躺死蟑螂 浴巾泛黄又湿
fàn diàn yī wǎn 6 0 0 0 dà tīng què tǎng sǐ 蟑 螂 yù jīn fàn huáng yòu shī
The hotel is 6,000 a night, but the lobby is lying dead, and the bath towel is yellow and wet
...了?中企被寄望“便宜记忆体救世主” 外媒却点2大现实:不可能实现
. . . le ? zhōng qǐ bèi jì wàng biàn yí jì yì tǐ jiù shì zhǔ wài méi què diǎn 2 dà xiàn shí : bù kě néng shí xiàn
... Done? Chinese companies are expected to be the "saviors of cheap memory" Foreign media point out two major realities: it is impossible to achieve
豪赌AI却让普通员工买单?Meta据称连续两年削减...
háo dǔ A I què ràng pǔ tōng yuán gōng mǎi dān ? M e t a jù chèn lián xù liǎng nián xiāo jiǎn . . .
Gambling on AI but making ordinary employees pay? Meta allegedly cut for two consecutive years...
她很穷，但却很快乐。
Tā hěn qióng, dàn què hěn kuàilè.
She is poor, but happy.
他向她求婚，但她却拒绝了。
Tā xiàng tā qiúhūn, dàn tā què jùjué le.
He asked her to marry him, but she refused.
吉姆很努力工作，但薪水却不高。
Jí mǔ hěn nǔlì gōngzuò, dàn xīnshuǐ què bù gāo.
Though Jim works very hard, his job does not pay very much.
金属冷却的时候会收缩。
Jīnshǔ lěngquè de shíhou huì shōusuō.
Metals contract when they cool.
Character Family
Frequently Asked Questions
What does 却 (què) mean in Chinese?
What's the difference between 却 and 劫?
How many strokes does 却 have?
What is the radical of 却?
What are the components of 却?
What are common words containing 却?
What characters sound the same as 却 (què)?
Is 却 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
Practice writing 却 with real-time feedback
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