苛刻

kēkè

adjective HSK 7-9 #7,937

Meanings

1 harsh
2 demanding
3 exacting

Characters

harsh; demanding

Both characters mean harsh — doubly harsh, extremely demanding.

Examples

老板对员工的要求非常苛刻。

Lǎobǎn duì yuángōng de yāoqiú fēicháng kēkè.

The boss is extremely demanding of the employees.

这个合同的条件太苛刻了。

Zhège hétóng de tiáojiàn tài kēkè le.

The terms of this contract are too harsh.

她对自己很苛刻。

Tā duì zìjǐ hěn kēkè.

She is very hard on herself.

Tips

usage

苛刻 is always negative. It describes unreasonably high standards or harsh conditions. Common patterns: 条件苛刻 (harsh conditions), 要求苛刻 (exacting demands), 对...苛刻 (harsh toward...).

Stroke Order

苛 kē

刻 kè