cruel, severe, atrocious, unjust
On'yomi (音読み)
- コク
Kun'yomi (訓読み)
- ひど.い
About this kanji
The kanji「酷」primarily means cruel or severe. It is often used as an adjective, describing something that is harsh or unjust. For example, the word 酷似 (こくじ) means resembling closely, while 残酷 (ざんこく) translates to cruel, and 冷酷 (れいこく) means cold-hearted or indifferent. You might also encounter 過酷 (かこく), which signifies severe or harsh conditions. The kun'yomi reading ひどい (hidoi) is frequently used in everyday language to describe something really terrible or cruel. It's important to note that this kanji often conveys a strong emotional response, so it is best used thoughtfully.
Example sentences
その暑さは酷いものでした。
The heat was terrible.
Meanings across languages
- English
- cruel, severe, atrocious, unjust
- Tiếng Việt
- tàn nhẫn
- 日本語
- 酷
- 한국어
- 잔인한
- 中文
- 残酷
- id
- kejam, parah, kejamnya, tidak adil
- th
- โหดร้าย, รุนแรง, ชั่วร้าย, ไม่ยุติธรรม
- es
- cruel, severo, atroz, injusto
- fr
- cruel, sévère, atroce, injuste
- de
- grausam, heftig, abscheulich, ungerecht
- pt
- cruel, severo, atroz, injusto
Common compounds
- 酷似resembling closely, being strikingly similar, bearing a strong likeness
- 残酷cruel, brutal, ruthless
- 冷酷cruelty, coldheartedness, relentless
- 過酷severe, harsh, hard
- 酷いcruel, heartless, hard
- 酷暑intense heat, severe heat
- 酷くterribly, awfully, dreadfully
- 酷寒severe cold, intense cold, bitter cold
Words using this kanji
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