HSK 6 · Verbs

啃 kěn “to gnaw” in Chinese

Same in Traditional

What 啃 means

  1. to gnaw
  2. to nibble
  3. to bite

How to say 啃

  • Pitch chart of the third tone: dips low then rises, 2 to 1 to 4 on the five-level scale啃kěn3rd tone, dipping

啃 in a sentence

  1. 小狗在院子里啃骨头。

    Xiǎogǒu zài yuànzi lǐ kěn gǔtou.

    The puppy is gnawing a bone in the yard.

    Sentence by WillyChina

  2. 他边走边啃苹果。

    Tā biān zǒu biān kěn píngguǒ.

    He was munching an apple as he walked.

    Sentence by WillyChina

How 啃 is built

Each colour is one part of the character. Parts repeat across thousands of characters, so learning them makes new words easier. See all 214 in our radicals chart.

The character 啃 (kěn) with each of its parts in a different colour
啃kěnto gnaw
  • 口mouth · kǒuMeaning part
  • 肯to agree to · kěnSound part

口 hints at the meaning (mouth); 肯 (kěn) hints at the sound. Compare it with kěn.

How to write 啃

啃 11 strokes

Watch the order, then press Try writing it and draw each stroke in the grid. Each stroke is checked as you go.

啃 (kěn) stroke order chart: each stroke of the character in the order you write it
Stroke order chart for 啃 (kěn). Red marks the next stroke, so you can copy it onto paper one step at a time.

Words related to 啃

More words: Common Verbs

扛káng · to carry on one’s shoulder考察kǎochá · to investigate靠拢kàolǒng · to draw close磕kē · to knock (against)扣kòu · to button挎kuà · to carry on the arm or over the shoulder跨kuà · to step across款待kuǎndài · to entertain (guests)

FAQs

啃 (kěn) means “to gnaw” or “to nibble”. It is an HSK 6 word.
Say it kěn: kěn with a 3rd tone. Press Listen at the top of this page to hear it, or Slowly to hear each tone clearly.
Yes. 啃 is written the same way in Simplified and Traditional characters.
Add a Chinese (Simplified) pinyin keyboard to your phone or computer, type ken with no tone marks or spaces, then choose 啃 from the suggestions. Typing ken into this dictionary’s search box finds it too.
啃 is an HSK 6 word in the HSK 2.0 word lists.

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Sources: meaning and pinyin checked by a native Mandarin teacher against the official HSK lists. Extra meanings from CC-CEDICT (CC BY-SA 4.0). Example sentences written by WillyChina. Character parts and stroke order from Make Me a Hanzi.