刻(kè)

HSK 28 strokes

quarter (hour)

Print a 刻 worksheet PDFPractice writing 刻

Stroke order animation

Character information

Pinyin
kè
Meaning
quarter (hour); moment; to carve; to engrave; to cut; oppressive; classifier for short time intervals
Strokes
8
HSK level
HSK 2
Traditional
Same

Origin & structure

Where 刻 comes from and how its parts fit together.

Phonetic-semantic compound⿰亥刂

In this compound, the meaning comes from 刂 (knife); 亥 supplies the sound.

One part carries the meaning, the other suggests the sound.

Made of

亥hài刂dāo

Parts are arranged left to right.

How to write 刻 step by step

8 strokes — each frame adds one stroke, shown in dark ink over the lighter ones.

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Words with 刻

Common words using 刻 — tap any character to open its stroke-order page.

kè刻yì意
HSK 7-9

intentionally; deliberately; purposely

Open 刻意 page →
kè刻zhōu舟qiú求jiàn剑
HSK 7-9

lit. a notch on the side of a boat to locate a sword dropped overboard (idiom); fig. an…

Open 刻舟求剑 page →
kè刻kǔ苦
HSK 7-9

hardworking

Open 刻苦 page →
guāng光kè刻

photolithography

Open 光刻 page →
kè刻dāo刀

engraving knife; carving knife (for wood, stone etc)

Open 刻刀 page →
kè刻bāo剥

to grab money; to exploit

Open 刻剥 page →
yī一kè刻

a quarter of an hour; 15 minutes

Open 一刻 page →
yī一kè刻qiān千jīn金

(idiom) time is gold; every minute is precious

Open 一刻千金 page →

Related characters

More HSK 2 characters

万且业为主举久乐

From 刻’s common words

意舟求剑苦光刀剥

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