彻

徹
chè
adjective #7,520

Meanings

  1. 1 thorough; penetrating; complete

Examples

HSK 4
Tā chèdǐ gǎibiàn le zìjǐ.
He completely changed himself.
HSK 6
Tā chèyè wèi mián.
She stayed awake all night.

Tips

usage
彻 is in 彻底 (thorough/complete), 透彻 (thorough/penetrating), 彻夜 (all night long), 贯彻 (to implement thoroughly).

Components

radical
彳 chì
step; left-foot radical
Left step radical - Kangxi #60, picturing a half-stride or the left of an intersection. Indexes 彻 in the motion family with 行 to walk, 往 to go to, 微 subtle, 徐 slow. 彻 means 'to go through, to penetrate completely,' so the step radical anchors the sense of carrying motion to its end.
phonetic
切 qiē
to cut; close
Right side 切 supplies the sound - qiē shifted to chè through Old-Chinese palatal alternation. 切 itself means 'to cut through cleanly,' and that flavour reinforces 彻: walking the path straight through, cutting clear to the bottom. The simplified 彻 replaced traditional 徹's older phonetic with this leaner sound peg.

Stroke Order

彻 chè