Chinese word

啃

Pronunciation

Pinyinkěn

Meaning

  • verbgnaw on

Example

孩子在桌上啃苹果。hái zi zài zhuō shàng kěn píng guǒ

The child is gnawing on an apple at the table.

Illustration for 啃 (gnaw on)

More examples

狗在院子里啃骨头。gǒu zài yuàn zi lǐ kén gǔ tou

The dog is gnawing on a bone in the yard.

Core concept

The teeth keep returning to one spot until the object yields piece by piece, whether the object is food or a stubborn task.

Common phrases

  • 啃苹果kěn píng guǒ

    gnaw on an apple

  • 啃骨头kén gǔ tou

    gnaw on a bone

  • 啃面包kěn miàn bāo

    gnaw on bread

Similar words

咬yǎo: Biting or gripping something with the teeth, often in a single strong action.
嚼jué: Chewing food repeatedly in the mouth with the teeth.
咀嚼jǔ jué: Chewing food thoroughly until it is finely broken up and mixed with saliva for swallowing.

Definition in Chinese

用牙齿反复啃咬，把东西一点点啃掉；也常用来形容遇到难题时一步步艰难推进的过程。yòng yá chǐ fǎn fù kěn yǎo bǎ dōng xī yì dián diǎn kěn diào yě cháng yòng lái xíng róng yù dào nán tí shí yí bù bù jiān nán tuī jìn de guò chéng

Word origin

啃 (kěn, "gnaw") combines 口 (kǒu, "mouth") + 肯 (kěn, "be willing"), using the first component for the action and the second chiefly for its sound.

Usage tips

  • In a sentence describing an action in progress, a progressive marker commonly comes before this verb, while completion is expressed separately; the verb alone does not mark the endpoint.

Other meanings

  • chewverb

Related words

  • 啃老kěn lǎolive off one's parentsverb
  • 啃食kěn shígnaw atverb

Word lists with this word