刻 (kè) means Engrave (harsh - extreme). Below are 24 of the 33 sentences on this site that use it — with pinyin, an English translation and audio. All of them were written by hand; none is machine generated.
Dictionary examples
现在是三点一 刻 。
Xiànzài shì sān diǎn yí kè.
It is now a quarter past three.
Dictionary example · HSK 3 · 刻
我们差一 刻 五点见面。
Wǒmen chà yí kè wǔ diǎn jiànmiàn.
We're meeting at a quarter to five.
Dictionary example · HSK 3 · 刻
刻 苦练习才能进步。
Kèkǔ liànxí cái néng jìnbù.
Only diligent practice brings progress.
Dictionary example · HSK 5 · 刻苦
这是最重要的时 刻 。
Zhè shì zuì zhòngyào de shíkè.
This is the most important moment.
Dictionary example · HSK 5 · 时刻
他时 刻 关心着家里。
Tā shíkè guānxīn zhe jiā lǐ.
He is constantly thinking about his family.
Dictionary example · HSK 5 · 时刻
治理污染 刻 不容缓。
Zhìlǐ wūrǎn kèbùrónghuǎn.
Tackling pollution brooks no delay.
Dictionary example · HSK 6 · 刻不容缓
这个要求过于苛 刻 了。
Zhège yāoqiú guòyú kēkè le.
This demand is excessively harsh.
Dictionary example · HSK 6 · 过于
他沉默了片 刻 才开口。
Tā chénmò le piànkè cái kāikǒu.
He was silent for a moment before speaking.
Dictionary example · HSK 6 · 片刻
他立 刻 明白了我的意思。
Tā lìkè míngbai le wǒ de yìsi.
He understood my meaning at once.
Dictionary example · HSK 5 · 立刻
这块玉上雕 刻 着一条龙。
Zhè kuài yù shang diāokèzhe yì tiáo lóng.
A dragon is carved into this piece of jade.
Dictionary example · HSK 6 · 雕刻
日出的那一 刻 十分壮观。
Rìchū de nà yí kè shífēn zhuàngguān.
The moment of sunrise is magnificent.
Dictionary example · HSK 6 · 壮观
这本书给我的印象很深 刻 。
Zhè běn shū gěi wǒ de yìnxiàng hěn shēnkè.
This book made a deep impression on me.
Dictionary example · HSK 5 · 深刻
他在会上做了深 刻 的检讨。
Tā zài huì shang zuò le shēnkè de jiǎntǎo.
He made a searching self-criticism at the meeting.
Dictionary example · HSK 6 · 检讨
情况紧急，救援 刻 不容缓。
Qíngkuàng jǐnjí, jiùyuán kèbùrónghuǎn.
The situation is urgent; the rescue cannot wait a moment.
Dictionary example · HSK 6 · 刻不容缓
那一 刻 ，空气仿佛凝固了。
Nà yí kè, kōngqì fǎngfú nínggù le.
In that moment the air seemed to freeze.
Dictionary example · HSK 6 · 凝固
岁月在他脸上 刻 下了皱纹。
Suìyuè zài tā liǎn shang kè xià le zhòuwén.
The years have carved wrinkles into his face.
Dictionary example · HSK 6 · 皱纹
进球的那一 刻 ，全场沸腾了。
Jìn qiú de nà yí kè, quánchǎng fèiténg le.
The moment the goal went in, the whole ground erupted.
Dictionary example · HSK 6 · 沸腾
Reading these is one thing; producing 刻 yourself is another. Cloze in Context takes a sentence from this same bank, removes one word and asks you to put it back — beginner, intermediate and advanced.
From the graded readers
那一 刻 ，我的眼睛忽然湿了。
nà / nèi yīkè, wǒ de(possessive) yǎnjīng hūrán shī le / liǎo / liào.
In that moment my eyes suddenly stung.
Graded reader · HSK 4 · Going Back Home
那一 刻 我明白了，其实我一直都可以，只是不相信自己。
nà / nèi yīkè wǒ míngbaile, qíshí wǒ yìzhí dōu kěyǐ, zhǐshì bù xiāngxìn zìjǐ.
In that moment I understood that I'd always been able to — I just hadn't believed it.
Graded reader · HSK 3 · Learning to Ride a Bike
那一 刻 我忽然明白：不懂得拒绝的人，时间是不值钱的。
nà / nèi yīkè wǒ hūrán míngbai: bù dǒngde jùjué de / dì rén, shíjiān shì bùzhí qián de / dì.
In that moment I understood: for someone who can't refuse, their time is worth nothing.
Graded reader · HSK 4 · Learning to Say No
刻 appears in 33 sentences on this site; the 24 shortest and most direct are shown. The rest are on the pages they were written for — the graded readers, the phrasebook and the grammar library.
Words that contain 刻
Each of these has sentences of its own, so you can see the character doing a different job in each one.
Questions about 刻
How is 刻 used in a sentence?
This page shows 33 sentences using 刻 (kè, "Engrave (harsh - extreme)"), each with pinyin, an English translation and audio. Every one of them was written by hand for this site.
Are these sentences machine generated?
No. They come from the site's own dictionary examples, graded readers, travel phrasebook and grammar library — all written by a person. A word with no sentence gets no page here, rather than a page of invented ones.
Why do some sentences show 刻 inside a longer word?
Because that is where a single character usually lives. Seeing 刻 inside the words it builds is how the character stops being an isolated symbol and starts being something you can read.
Is 刻 an HSK word?
Yes — 刻 is on the official HSK 3 vocabulary list, and you can study it with the rest of that list on the HSK 3 page.
Where can I see the full entry for 刻?
The dictionary page for 刻 has its stroke order, its traditional form, every sense the dictionary lists and a character-by-character breakdown. It is linked at the top of this page.
Keep going
Read the full entry for 刻, write a sentence of your own and check it in the Pinyin Annotator, drill it with HSK 3 flashcards, or search the whole sentence bank for another word.
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