酷

kù

ruthless

strong (e.g. of wine); (loanword) cool; hip

Wine jar (酉) + sound (告) = ruthlessly strong, cool

酉 is the vessel that holds fermented spirits, anchoring the sense of something potent and extreme. 告 lends the sound kù and does not carry meaning here.

酉+告→酷

告To announcePhonetic

酉A vessel for fermented liquorSemantic

他穿上新衣服，看起来真的很酷。

tā chuān shàng xīn yī fu，kàn qǐ lái zhēn de hěn kù。

He put on new clothes and looks really cool.

这位将军以酷刑对待俘虏，手段极其残忍。

zhè wèi jiāng jūn yǐ kù xíng duì dài fú lǔ，shǒu duàn jí qí cán rěn。

This general used ruthless torture on prisoners, with extremely cruel methods.

Words with 酷

酷似

kù sì

to strikingly resemble

酷儿

kù ér

queer (sexuality)

酷刑

kù xíng

cruelty; torture

酷刑折磨

kù xíng zhé mó

torture and cruel treatment

酷爱

kù ài

to be keen on

酷毙

kù bì

(slang) awesome

酷斯拉

kù sī lā

More characters with 酉

酖酊醴酶酋酥