恳 (kěn) · sincere, earnest, to request earnestly

Meanings

1 sincere
2 earnest
3 to request earnestly

Characters

恳

kěn

sincere; earnest

Examples

HSK 4

我们恳请大家支持这个计划。

Wǒmen kěn qǐng dàjiā zhīchí zhège jìhuà.

We earnestly ask everyone to support this plan.

HSK 7-9

他的态度很诚恳。

Tā de tàidu hěn chéngkěn.

His attitude is very sincere and earnest.

Tips

usage

恳 rarely stands alone in modern Chinese. It lives in compounds like 诚恳 (sincere) and 恳求 (to implore), where it adds a tone of heartfelt sincerity.

Components

radical

心 xīn

heart; mind

The full heart radical sits at the bottom. It marks this as an emotion or attitude word: sincerity is a quality of the heart.

phonetic

艮 gèn

stopping; one of the eight trigrams

Sits on top and supplies the sound. 艮 appears as the phonetic in a family of characters such as 恳 and 垦; the reading has shifted away from gèn over time.

Stroke Order

恳 kěn

Related Words

恳求 kěnqiú HSK 7-9 #7,205

to implore / to plead / to beg earnestly

恳切 kěnqiè HSK 7-9 #65,965

earnest / sincere and eager

诚恳 chéngkěn HSK 7-9 #11,101

sincere / honest / earnest

恳请 kěnqǐng #18,452

to earnestly request / to implore

勤勤恳恳 qínqínkěnkěn #36,783

diligent and conscientious / industrious and earnest

拜托 bàituō HSK 7-9 #405

to request someone to do something / please! (earnest request) / come on! (exasperation)

请求 qǐngqiú HSK 5 #1,636

to request / request

忠告 zhōnggào HSK 7-9 #7,250

sincere advice; earnest counsel / to advise sincerely; to admonish

语重心长 yǔzhòng-xīncháng

earnest and heartfelt words / with sincere concern and deep feeling

开口 kāikǒu #2,307

to open one's mouth; to start to speak / to make a request; to ask (someone for something)