How to Write 渴 (kě) — Meaning “Thirsty”

Imagine you are very thirsty (渴) and need water (氵), so you say “Kě” like “can I have a drink?” The right part 曷 can be seen as a person (亻-like shape) under a sun (曰) – a thirsty person in the hot sun.

Write the water radical 氵 first (3 strokes). For the right side 曷, start with a short horizontal stroke, then the 曰 shape (a rectangle), and finally the bottom part with a curved hook. A common mistake is to confuse this right side with 喝 (to drink) which has a mouth radical 口 on top.

All three share the water radical 氵, but the right parts are different. 渴 (thirsty) has 曷 on the right, 流 (to flow) has a right part that looks like a stream (㐬), and 浙 (Zhejiang river) has 折 (to break) on the right. Focus on the right side to distinguish them.

You use 渴 for physical thirst, like 口渴 (kǒu kě, thirsty) or 我渴了 (I am thirsty). It also appears in the word 渴望 (kě wàng) meaning to yearn for something. A famous cultural idiom is 望梅止渴 (looking at plums quenches thirst), which describes using imagination to relieve a desire.

Common words containing 渴 include: 口渴 (kǒu kě) — thirsty; 渴了 (kě le) — Thirsty; 渴望 (kě wàng) — To long for or yearn for.