扣 is also the simplified spelling of 釦.
DICTIONARY · CC-CEDICT
扣
Mandarin · pinyin kòu
Meanings
- to fasten
- to button
- button
- buckle
- knot
- to arrest
- to confiscate
- to deduct (money)
- discount
- to knock
- to smash, spike or dunk (a ball)
- to cover (with a bowl etc)
- (fig.) to tag a label on sb
- (Tw) (loanword) code
Characters in this entry
- 扣
- kòu · knock, strike, rap, tap; button
Explore the spelling
Mandarin tones
4 · kou4
Compare attested words with these syllables ↗Dictionary tones. Connected speech can change their realization.
Connected dictionary
1character link17same-tone records
Counts describe dictionary records, not word frequency or semantic similarity. Source identities stay separate.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.
Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 12 senses · 1 Cantonese reading
Rime Cantonese 粵拼
kau3
Cantonese word readings for 扣. This lexicon supplies readings, not definitions.
CanCLID contributors · CC BY 4.0 · source & license · Data pack
Wiktionary English definitions · Chinese section
Independent source senses for this spelling, with usage labels retained. Not matched to the pronunciation above.
character
- (alt-of, alternative) alternative form of 叩 (kòu, “to knock; to rap; to strike; to pound”)
- (alt-of, alternative) alternative form of 叩 (kòu, “to enquire”)
- to hold; to restrain; to grab (a horse)
- to detain; to arrest
- to button; to fasten a button; to buckle; to clasp
- button (knob or small disc serving as a fastener)
- knot
- to subtract; to deduct (money, points, etc.)
- to accord with; to tally with; to conform to
- to place (a cup, a bowl, etc.) upside down
- Classifier for discount.
- a surname, Kou
Source page · dump 2026-09-02 · Contributors & history
Wiktionary contributors · CC BY-SA 4.0 · source & license · Data pack