一刻

yíkè

noun #1,712

Meanings

1 a moment
2 an instant
3 a quarter (of an hour)

Characters

a quarter (hour); moment; to carve

Examples

这一刻我永远不会忘记。

Zhè yíkè wǒ yǒngyuǎn búhuì wàngjì.

I will never forget this moment.

现在是三点一刻。

Xiànzài shì sāndiǎn yíkè.

It's a quarter past three now.

一刻也不能耽误。

Yíkè yě bùnéng dānwu.

Not a moment can be wasted.

Tips

usage

一刻 has two uses: (1) 'a moment/instant' in literary or emotional contexts (这一刻 = this moment), and (2) 'a quarter hour' in telling time (三点一刻 = 3:15).

memory

刻 originally meant a notch or mark. Ancient Chinese water clocks were divided into 刻 marks — one day had 100 刻, later standardized to quarter hours.

Stroke Order

一 yī

刻 kè