HSK 6 · Adjectives

曲折 qūzhé “winding” in Chinese

Same in Traditional

What 曲折 means

  1. winding
  2. twists and turns
  3. complicated
  4. (fig.) complicated

How to say 曲折

  • Pitch chart of the first tone: stays high and level, 5 to 5 on the five-level scale曲qū1st tone, high and level
  • Pitch chart of the second tone: rises from mid to high, 3 to 5 on the five-level scale折zhé2nd tone, rising

曲折 in a sentence

  1. 这条山路弯弯曲曲，很曲折。

    Zhè tiáo shānlù wānwānqūqū, hěn qūzhé.

    This mountain road winds back and forth.

    Sentence by WillyChina

  2. 这部小说的情节很曲折。

    Zhè bù xiǎoshuō de qíngjié hěn qūzhé.

    This novel has a plot full of twists and turns.

    Sentence by WillyChina

How 曲折 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 曲 (qū) with each of its parts in a different colour
曲qūbent
  • 曰say · yuē
  • 丨line · gǔn
  • 丨line · gǔn
The character 折 (zhé) with each of its parts in a different colour
折zhéto break
  • 扌hand form of 手 · shǒu
  • 斤axe · jīn

How to write 曲折

曲 6 strokes · 折 7 strokes

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

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

Words related to 曲折

Words with 曲

歪曲wāiqū · to distort曲子qǔzi · tune

Words with 折

打折dǎzhé · to give a discount折zhé · to break折磨zhémo · to torment折腾zhēteng · to toss and turn挫折cuòzhé · setback周折zhōuzhé · twists and turns转折zhuǎnzhé · turning point

More words: Adjectives

亲密qīnmì · intimate亲热qīnrè · affectionate齐全qíquán · complete确切quèqiè · exact热门rèmén · popular仁慈réncí · kind人工réngōng · man-made人为rénwéi · man-made

FAQs

曲折 (qūzhé) means “winding” or “twists and turns”. It is an HSK 6 word.
Say it qūzhé: qū with a 1st tone, then zhé with a 2nd tone. Press Listen at the top of this page to hear it, or Slowly to hear each tone clearly.
Yes. 曲折 is written the same way in Simplified and Traditional characters.
Add a Chinese (Simplified) pinyin keyboard to your phone or computer, type quzhe with no tone marks or spaces, then choose 曲折 from the suggestions. Typing quzhe into this dictionary’s search box finds it too.
曲折 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.