切

qiē

HSK 5

切 — qiē

1. to cut; to slice

   请把这个苹果切成两半。 qǐng bǎ zhège píngguǒ qièchéng liǎngbàn — Please cut this apple in half.

2. to carve

   工匠用刻刀在木头上切出花纹。 gōngjiàng yòng kèdāo zài mùtou shàng qièchū huāwén — The craftsman carved patterns into the wood with a chisel.

3. (math) tangential; touching at a point

   这条线在该点与圆切于一点。 zhètiáo xiàn zài gāi diǎn yǔ yuán qiè yú yìdiǎn — This line is tangent to the circle at that point.

切 — qiè

1. definitely; absolutely (often in negative constructions: absolutely not)

   他说他不来，切，谁会相信？ tā shuō tā bùlái qiè shuí huì xiāngxìn — He said he won't come—yeah, right, who would believe that?

2. an interjection expressing scoffing or dismissal (Tut! Yeah, right.)

   你说他会做到？切，那是不可能的。 nǐ shuō tā huì zuòdào qiè nà shì bùkě néng de — You say he'll accomplish it? Tut—it's impossible.

3. to grind (e.g., spices) or to mill

   把药材切成细末再服用。 bǎ yàocái qièchéng xì mò zài fúyòng — Grind the herbs into fine powder before taking them.

4. bound form: (in compounds) close to; near; eager; to correspond to

   他的建议切合实际，受到大家的赞同。 tā de jiànyì qièhéshíjì shòudào dàjiā de zàntóng — His suggestions were practical and realistic, and gained everyone's approval.

5. marker indicating fanqie (反切) spelling should be applied to the previous two characters

   古代字书用「切」标注反切注音法。 gǔdài zìshū yòng qiè biāozhù fǎnqiè zhùyīn fǎ — Ancient character dictionaries used qie to indicate the fanqie spelling method.