kuài
verb

Meanings

  1. 1 (classical) to swallow; throat
  2. 2 surname Kuai

Examples

樊哙辅佐刘邦猛将
Fán Kuài shì fǔzuǒ Liú Bāng de yì yuán měngjiàng.
Fan Kuai was a renowned brave general who served Liu Bang.

Tips

history
is not used as a common word today. Its classical meanings (to swallow; throat) are obsolete; it survives chiefly as a surname, most famously the Han general 樊哙. It shares the phonetic with and .
register
Archaic and literary only, encountered as a historical name or in old texts, not in modern speech.

Components

radical
kǒu
mouth
The mouth radical fits the original sense of swallowing and the throat, actions of the mouth.
phonetic
kuài
to gather; to be able
(read kuài in this phonetic family) gives the sound. The full traditional form writes it as the richer ; the same phonetic appears in and .

Stroke Order

kuài