刻

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The Chinese character 刻 (kè) is composed of two parts: the radical 刀 (dāo), which means "knife", and the phonetic component 壳 (ké), which is a simplified form of the character 殼 (ké), meaning "shell". The original meaning of 刻 is "to carve" or "to engrave", which is related to the idea of using a knife to make marks on a hard surface.Over time, the meaning of 刻 has expanded to include other related concepts, such as "time" and "moment". This is because the ancient Chinese used 刻 to mark the time by carving notches on a stick or a piece of wood. Each notch represented a certain amount of time, and the character 刻 came to be used to refer to a specific unit of time.In modern Chinese, 刻 is still used in the sense of "time" or "moment", but it is also used in other contexts. For example, it can be used to mean "strict" or "rigorous", as in the phrase 刻苦 (kèkǔ), which means "to work hard" or "to endure hardship". It can also be used to mean "to record" or "to document", as in the phrase 刻录 (kèlù), which means "to burn data onto a CD or DVD".The character 刻 is a versatile and important character in the Chinese language, and it has a rich history and etymology. By understanding the origins of this character, HSK learners can gain a deeper appreciation for the Chinese language and its culture.