Chinese word

苛刻

Pronunciation

Pinyinkē kè

Meaning

  • adjectiveharsh

Example

老板对员工很苛刻。láo bǎn duì yuán gōng hěn kē kè

The boss is very harsh with the employees.

Illustration for 苛刻 (harsh)

More examples

沙漠的气候对植物生长很苛刻。shā mò de qì hòu duì zhí wù shēng zhǎng hěn kē kè

The desert climate is very harsh on plant growth.

Core concept

Presses people with exacting demands while looking for faults and leaving almost no room for error.

Common phrases

  • 苛刻的条件kē kè de tiáo jiàn

    harsh conditions

  • 对候选人苛刻duì hòu xuǎn rén kē kè

    be harsh on candidates

  • 苛刻的处罚kē kè de chǔ fá

    harsh punishment

Similar words

严厉yán lì: Severe in scolding or punishment, showing little softness toward the person being corrected.
严格yán gé: Strictly enforces rules or standards and does not allow them to be relaxed.

Definition in Chinese

指态度或标准严格甚至带有苛求意味，侧重于挑剔和不留情面的严厉。zhǐ tài dù huò biāo zhǔn yán gé shèn zhì dài yǒu kē qiú yì wèi cè zhòng yú tiāo tī hé bù liú qíng miàn de yán lì

Word origin

The compound 苛刻 (kēkè, "harsh") joins 苛 (kē, "harsh") and 刻 (kè, "cut"), with both parts reinforcing the sense of treatment or standards that feel sharply severe.

Usage tips

  • When it describes a person, the word can sound like direct criticism because it suggests fault-finding and a lack of sympathy, not just high expectations.

Other meanings

  • strictadjective

Opposites

Word lists with this word