Meaning of 绝
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- to cut short
- extinct
- to disappear
- to vanish
- absolutely
- by no means
- variant of 絕|绝[jue2]
How to use 绝
绝 rarely stands alone in daily speech. It mostly appears in words like 绝对 (juéduì, absolutely), 拒绝 (jùjué, to refuse), and 灭绝 (mièjué, to die out). As an adverb before a negative, it means "by no means": 我绝不放弃。(Wǒ jué bù fàngqì.) I will never give up.
绝 (jué) has the silk radical 纟 on the left, so picture a silk thread being cut. When the thread is cut short, it is gone for good, which links to meanings like "to cut off," "extinct," and "absolutely."
Common mistake: Learners often confuse 绝 (jué) with 决 (jué) because they sound the same. 决 means "to decide" as in 决定 (juédìng), while 绝 is about cutting off or extremes, so 拒绝 and 绝对 use 绝, not 决.
绝 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.
绝 jué · to cut short · 9 strokes
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Related words
Words that share a character with 绝.
| 绝对 | juéduì | absolute; unconditional |
| 拒绝 | jùjué | to refuse; to decline; to reject |
| 绝望 | juéwàng | to despair; to give up all hope |
| 绝大多数 | jué dàduōshù | the vast majority |
| 灭绝 | mièjué | to become extinct; to die out; to lose (sth abstract) completely |
| 绝招 | juézhāo | unique skill; unexpected tricky move (as a last resort) |
| 绝技 | juéjì | consummate skill; supreme feat |
| 滔滔不绝 | tāotāo-bùjué | (idiom) to produce a torrent of words; to talk on and on |
| 杜绝 | dùjué | to put an end to |
| 绝缘 | juéyuán | to have no contact with; to be cut off from |
| 络绎不绝 | luòyì-bùjué | (idiom) continuously; in an endless stream |
| 赞不绝口 | zànbùjuékǒu | (idiom) can't stop praising |
Questions about 绝
What does 绝 mean?
绝 (jué) means "to cut short; extinct" and is used as a adjective and adverb.
How do you write 绝?
绝 is made of 1 character: 绝 (9 strokes). That is 9 strokes in total.
Is 绝 an HSK word?
Yes. 绝 is on the HSK 6 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
How is 绝 written in traditional Chinese?
In traditional characters, 绝 is written 絕.
What does 绝了 (jué le) mean in casual Chinese?
In spoken Chinese, 绝了 is slang for "amazing" or "incredible." For example, 这道菜绝了 (zhè dào cài jué le) means "this dish is amazing." It can also be used ironically for something unbelievably bad.
What is the difference between 绝不 and 决不?
Both are pronounced jué bù and mean "never" or "by no means." 绝不 is the more common written form today. 决不 stresses determination and is also accepted, but 绝不 is the safer choice.