靠

The Chinese character 靠 (kào) is composed of two parts: the radical 扌(shǒu), which indicates a hand, and the phonetic component 考 (kǎo), which means "to test" or "to examine". The original meaning of 靠 was "to lean on" or "to rely on", which is still one of its most common meanings today. The character can also be used to mean "to trust", "to depend on", or "to rely on". In addition, 靠 can be used as a verb meaning "to approach" or "to come close to".The character 靠 has a long history, dating back to the Shang dynasty (c. 1600-1046 BC). The earliest known examples of the character are found on oracle bones, which were used for divination. In these early examples, the character 靠 is often used in the sense of "to lean on" or "to rely on". For example, one oracle bone inscription reads: "The king relies on the people."Over time, the meaning of 靠 has expanded to include a wider range of meanings, such as "to trust", "to depend on", "to rely on", "to approach", and "to come close to". The character is also used in a number of idioms and proverbs, such as 靠山吃山, 靠水吃水 (kào shān chī shān, kào shuǐ chī shuǐ), which means "to rely on the mountains for food, and to rely on the water for drink".The character 靠 is a common character in modern Chinese, and it is used in a wide variety of contexts. It is an important character to learn for HSK learners, as it is used in many everyday expressions.