Meaning of 渴
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- thirsty
How to use 渴
渴 (kě) describes being thirsty and is usually used as a predicate with 很 or 了, not before a noun. People often say 口渴 (kǒukě) for the same idea. Example: 我渴了，想喝水。(Wǒ kě le, xiǎng hē shuǐ.) I'm thirsty and want to drink some water.
渴 has the water radical 氵 on the left, and the right side 曷 looks like a mouth 曰 over a person bent forward. Picture someone with a dry mouth leaning toward water because they are thirsty.
Common mistake: Learners often mix up 渴 (kě, thirsty) with 喝 (hē, to drink), which shares the same right side but uses the mouth radical 口. Remember: water 氵 for the feeling of thirst, mouth 口 for the action of drinking.
渴 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Stroke order for each character
Open a character for its meaning, components and more words.
渴 kě · thirsty · 12 strokes
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
- 7
- 8
- 9
- 10
- 11
- 12
Related words
Words that share a character with 渴.
Questions about 渴
What does 渴 mean?
渴 (kě) means "thirsty" and is used as a adjective.
How do you write 渴?
渴 is made of 1 character: 渴 (12 strokes). That is 12 strokes in total.
Is 渴 an HSK word?
Yes. 渴 is on the HSK 1 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
Can 渴 mean wanting something other than water?
Yes, in compounds it can mean a strong desire. 渴望 (kěwàng) and 渴求 (kěqiú) mean to long for something, such as 渴望成功 (kěwàng chénggōng), to long for success.
Is it more natural to say 我很渴 or 我渴了?
Both are correct. 我渴了 (wǒ kě le) stresses that you have just become thirsty, while 我很渴 (wǒ hěn kě) simply says you are very thirsty.