kào
verb #87,560

Meanings

  1. 1 to reward troops or laborers with food, drink, or gifts
  2. 2 to feast and comfort (those who have worked hard)

Examples

HSK 7-9
Dǎ le shèngzhàng, jiāngjūn kàoláo le shìbīng.
After the victory, the general feasted his soldiers.
HSK 7-9
Gōngsī shè yàn kàoshǎng quántǐ yuángōng yì nián de xīnláo.
The company put on a banquet to reward the staff for the year's hard work.

Tips

history
The root sense is rewarding soldiers with oxen, wine and provisions - 犒师 ('to feast an army') appears repeatedly in early histories. Today it lives on in 犒劳 ('to reward for hard work') and 犒赏 ('to reward with gifts').

Components

radical
niú
ox; cattle
The ox radical (in its narrow left-side form) is meaningful here: ancient armies were rewarded with slaughtered oxen and wine, so the ox stands in for the lavish provisions of the feast.
phonetic
gāo
tall; high
Provides the sound. Standalone reads gāo; the reading has shifted to kào in this character. It supplies pronunciation only.

Stroke Order

kào