kūwěi 枯萎 ADJ withered
kūzào 枯燥 [comp: 枯 withered + 燥 dry] ADJ dull and dry 枯燥乏味 kūzào fáwèi dull and insipid
kǔ 苦 ADJ 1 (of food) bitter ■ 这杯咖啡太苦了，要 放点儿糖。Zhè bēi kāfēi tài kǔ le, yào fàng diǎnr
táng. This coffee is too bitter. Put a bit of sugar in it. 2 (of life) hard, suffering, miserable ■ 经济不
好，不少人生活很苦。Jīngjì bù hǎo, bù shǎo rén shēnghuó hěn kǔ. As the economy is not in
good shape, many people’s lives are very hard. 吃苦 chīkǔ suffer hardships, endure hardships
kǔ jìn gān lái 苦尽甘来 IDIOM after suffering comes happiness
kǔsè 苦涩 ADJ 1 (of taste) bitter and astringent 2 (of emotion) pained, agonized
kù 裤 TRAD 褲 N trousers
kùzi 裤子 [suffix: 裤 trousers + 子 nominal suffix] N trousers (条 tiáo) ■ 这条裤子短了一点儿。Zhè
tiáo kùzi duǎnle yìdiǎnr. This pair of trousers is a bit too short. ■ 这个小孩会脱裤子，但还不会
穿 裤子。Zhège xiǎohái huì tuō kùzi, dàn hái bú huì chuān kùzi. This child can take off his
trousers, but still can’t put them on.
kù 酷¹ ADJ cruel (See cánkù 残酷.)
kù 酷² ADJ cool, relaxed and fashionable, attractive
kù 库 N warehouse (See cāngkù 仓库.)
kuā 夸 V 1 exaggerate, boast 2 praise
kuāzhāng 夸张 V exaggerate
kuà 跨 V take big strides ■ 他再向前跨一步，就 要滚下楼梯了。Tā zài xiàngqián kuà yí bù, jiùyào
gǔnxia lóutī le. If he took another step forward, he would tumble down the staircase. 跨国公司
kuàguó gōngsī multinational company
kuà 挎 V carry on the arm or over one’s shoulder
kuài 快 ADJ quick, fast (ANTONYM 慢 màn) ■ 快，公 共汽车来了！Kuài, gōnggòng qìchē lái le! Quick,
the bus is coming! ■ 他跑得很快。Tā pǎo de hěn kuài. He runs very fast.
kuàihuo 快活 ADJ merry, cheerful
kuàilè 快乐 ADJ joyful, happy ■ 祝你生日快 乐！Zhù nǐ shēngrì kuàilè! Happy birthday! ■ 在这个快
乐的节日里，人们暂时忘了生活中 种种不愉快的事。Zài zhège kuàilè de jiérì li, rénmen
zànshí wàngle shēnghuó zhōng zhǒngzhǒng bù yúkuài de shì. At this happy festival, people forget
for the time being unpleasant things in life.
kuài 块 TRAD 塊 MEASUrE WOrD 1 (for things that can be broken into lumps or chunks) 一块蛋糕 yí kuài dàngāo a
piece/slice of cake / 两块面包 liǎng kuài miànbāo two pieces of bread 2 (for money) yuan, dollar (only in
spoken Chinese) 三块钱 sān kuài qián three yuan (or dollars)
NOTE: See note on 元 yuán.kuài 筷 N chopstick
kuàizi 筷子 [suffix: 筷 chopstick + 子 nominal suffix] N chopsticks (双 shuāng a pair) ■ 你会用 筷子
吗？Nǐ huì yòng kuàizi ma? Can you eat with chopsticks?
kuài 会 TRAD 會 as in 会计 kuàijì
kuàijì 会计 N 1 accounting 会计年度 kuàijì niándù fiscal year 2 accountant 会计主任 kuàijì zhǔrèn chief
accountant
kuān 宽 TRAD 寬 ADJ wide ■ 江面很宽，我游不过 去。Jiāngmiàn hěn kuān, wǒ yóu bu guòqu. The
river is too wide for me to swim across.
kuānchang 宽敞 [comp: 宽 wide + 敞 open] ADJ spacious
kuāndài 宽带 N broadband
kuānróng 宽容 ADJ tolerant, lenient
kuǎn 款 N sum of money (笔 bǐ) ■ 你可以用这张 卡取款，或者存款。Nǐ kěyǐ yòng zhè zhāng kǎ qǔ
kuǎn, huòzhě cún kuǎn. You can withdraw or deposit money with this card.
kuǎndài 款待 V entertain hospitably