嚴酷

简 严酷 · 繁 嚴酷
Mandarin · pinyin yán kù

Meanings

  1. bitter
  2. harsh
  3. grim
  4. ruthless
  5. severe
  6. cut-throat (competition)
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Characters in this entry

嚴
Look up this written character
酷
kù · strong, stimulating; very
严
yán · strict, rigorous, rigid; stern
Written characters and their own readings; the entry’s pronunciation is shown above.

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Mandarin tones

2–4 · yan2 ku4

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Read this spelling in Classical texts

Follow a written form into the eight pinned witnesses: Analects, Mencius, Laozi, Zhuangzi, Xunzi, Han Feizi, Sunzi and the Mao Shijing. A match is a place to investigate; it does not prove that a modern dictionary sense fits the passage.

嚴酷 · find source passages ↗ · 严酷 · find source passages ↗

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 2 senses · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

jim4 huk6

Cantonese word readings for 嚴酷. This lexicon supplies readings, not definitions.

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Wiktionary English definitions · Chinese section

Independent source senses for this spelling, with usage labels retained. Not matched to the pronunciation above.

adj

  1. harsh; bitter
  2. cruel; inhumane

Source page · dump 2026-09-02 · Contributors & history

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