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Kanji Detail for 酷 - "cruel, harsh"

酷

  • Meaning

    酷 means "cruel, harsh." Also associated with extreme.

    1. Cruel - Causing pain without mercy.

    2. Harsh - Severe; strict.

    3. Extreme - Going to great lengths.

    4. Rich - Having strong flavor.

  • Words using 酷

    • 過酷 かこく Listen severe; harsh; hard
    • 酷似 こくじ Listen resembling closely; being strikingly similar; bearing a strong likeness
    • 冷酷 れいこく Listen cruelty; coldheartedness; relentless

  • Four-character idioms with 酷

    • 冷酷無情 れいこくむじょう Listen cruel and heartless; merciless; implacable
    • 冷酷無残 れいこくむざん Listen cruel and heartless; merciless; implacable
    • 残忍酷薄 ざんにんこくはく Listen cruel; heartless; brutal
    • 残酷非道 ざんこくひどう Listen inhumanity; atrocity; abominable cruelty

  • Tattoo check: 酷

    • Verified meaning: cruel, harsh
    • Official Jōyō kanji — a standard character every Japanese reader recognises
    • Also carries these associations: extreme

    A single kanji rarely maps one-to-one onto an English word. Read the meanings and associations above as a set — a character that fits the dictionary definition can still carry a connotation you did not intend.

  • Dictionary Citations

    The meaning above is based on the following sources:

    KANJIDIC2 A comprehensive Japanese-English kanji dictionary

    cruel; severe; atrocious; unjust

    Unihan Unicode Han Database for CJK characters

    strong, stimulating; very

    CC-CEDICT A Chinese-English dictionary

    ruthless; strong (e.g. of wine); (loanword) cool; hip

    Make Me a Hanzi Open-source Chinese character data

    strong, stimulating; ruthless, intense

    XSZD Xuéshēng Zìdiǎn (學生字典) - Student's Dictionary

    Cruel. Miserable. As in brutal officials are called 酷吏 (cruel officials). | Extreme. As in very similar is called 酷似, extremely hot is called 酷暑.

  • Onyomi

    tip

    koku(コク) コク

  • Kunyomi

    tip

    hido.i(ひど-い) ひど-い

  • Strokes

    tip

    14 strokes

  • Radical

    tip

    酉 (hiyominotori・torihen・sakenotori・koyominotori)

  • Related Keywords

    cruel harsh extreme intense merciless severe resentment rich brutal callous heartless inhumane pitiless rigorous ruthless sadistic austere exacting

Sentences including 酷

  • It was cruel of him to say such things to her.

  • Don't be cruel to animals.

  • He caught a terrible cold.

  • He is a brute to his children.

Sentences from Japanese classical masterpieces

More kanji with the radical 酉 (hiyominotori・torihen・sakenotori・koyominotori)

See all kanji with this radical →

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