Dictionary › 残酷

残酷

cán kù

Old HSK 6 HSK 3.0 level 7-9 2-character word Traditional 殘酷

残酷 (cán kù) means "cruel; cruelty". It is an HSK 3.0 level 7-9 word, and was HSK 6 in the old six-level list.

What 残酷 means

1. cruel; harsh; merciless

The characters in 残酷

• 残cánto destroy; to spoil; to ruin
• 酷kùruthless; strong (e.g. of wine); (loanword) cool

Example sentences

• 我不忍目睹这种残酷的行径。
  Wǒ bù rěn mùdǔ zhèzhǒng cánkù de xíngjìng.
  I cannot abide to see such cruelty.
• 对动物来说这不是什么残酷的事情。
  Duì dòngwù lái shuō zhè bù shì shénme cánkù de shìqing.
  When it comes to animals, this can't be considered as being something cruel.
• 对动物来说这不是什幺残酷的事情。
  When it comes to animals, this can't be considered as being something cruel.
• 当人们认为战争残酷时，它还是很吸引人的。当人们认为战争粗俗时，它就没那么受欢迎了。
  Dāng rénmen rènwéi zhànzhēng cánkù shí, tā háishi hěn xīyǐn rén de. dāng rénmen rènwéi zhànzhēng cūsú shí, tā jiù méi nàme shòuhuānyíng le.
  As long as war is regarded as wicked, it will always have its fascination. When it is looked upon as vulgar, it will cease to be popular.
• 当人们认为战争残酷时，它还是很吸引人的。当人们认为战争粗俗时，它就没那幺受欢迎了。
  As long as war is regarded as wicked, it will always have its fascination. When it is looked upon as vulgar, it will cease to be popular.

Words starting with 残酷

• 残酷无情cán kù wú qíngcruel and unfeeling (idiom)

Where 残酷 is taught

In the GraphChinese course it is part of HSK 6 Vocabulary · cǎi–cāo (HSK 6), each one a topic in the dependency graph of HSK 1–6 that opens only once its prerequisites are solid.

Go deeper

• Every HSK 6 word, with the rest of its level.
• The four tones and the neutral tone, to read cán kù correctly.
• Look up another word in the free dictionary.