Meaning
thirsty
Chinese: 口干想喝水，也表示迫切希望。
Hear the Four Tones
The same syllable “ke” becomes a different word in each tone. 渴 is the 3rd tone. Tap any tone to hear a native voice and see its pitch shape.
Stroke Order
Tap Animate to watch the strokes in order, or Practice to trace it yourself.
Common Words
- 渴望kě wàngto thirst for; to long for
- 解渴jiě kěto quench
- 口渴kǒu kěthirsty
- 渴求kě qiúto long for; to crave for; to greatly desire
- 干渴gān kěparched; dry mouth
More Words
Example Sentence
走了这么远的路，我有点儿口渴。Zǒu le zhè me yuǎn de lù, wǒ yǒu diǎnr kǒu kě.After walking such a long way, I am a bit thirsty.
走zǒuto walk了le(completed action)这么zhè meso much远yuǎnfar的deof路lùroad (CL:条)，我wǒI有点儿yǒu diǎn rslightly口渴kǒu kěthirsty。
Go deeper
Where this character comes from
The water radical 氵 (meaning) plus 曷 (hé, sound): in need of water — ‘thirsty’.
A way to remember it
Wanting water (氵), with the sound 曷 — thirsty.
Easy to confuse with
- 喝‘To drink’: shares the 曷 sound, but with the mouth radical 口 — thirsty vs drink.