挖 wā
- Strokes
- 9
- Radical
- 扌 — hand
- Made of
- 扌 hand 穵 a deep hollow
- How it's built
- Ideograph — the meaning is built from its parts
挖苦
wāku
to mock; to taunt sarcastically
Characters in this word
苦 kǔ
- Strokes
- 8
- Radical
- 艹 — grass, weed, plant, herb
- Made of
- 艹 grass, weed, plant, herb 古 old, classic, ancient
- How it's built
- Phono-semantic — one part hints at the meaning, another at the sound
Example phrases
- 他表面上是在开玩笑，实际上每句话都在挖苦新来的同事。 Tā biǎomiàn shàng shì zài kāi wánxiào, shíjì shàng měi jù huà dōu zài wāku xīn lái de tóngshì. On the surface he was joking, but in fact every sentence was mocking the new colleague.
- 别挖苦他了，他已经够难受的了。 Bié wāku tā le, tā yǐjīng gòu nánshòu de le. Stop mocking him—he already feels bad enough.
- 她说话总带着刺，同事们都怕被她挖苦。 Tā shuōhuà zǒng dài zhe cì, tóngshìmen dōu pà bèi tā wāku. Her words always carry barbs; her colleagues all fear being mocked by her.
Related words
- 挖 wā to dig
- 挖掘 wājué to excavate; to dig out; to tap
- 痛苦 tòngkǔ pain; suffering
- 苦 kǔ bitter
- 艰苦 jiānkǔ hard; difficult
- 酸甜苦辣 suāntiánkǔlà life's joys and hardships
- 辛苦 xīnkǔ hard; tiring
- 吃苦 chīkǔ to endure hardship
- 愁眉苦脸 chóuméikǔliǎn to look worried; to pull a long face
- 何苦 hékǔ why bother; why make things hard for oneself
- 刻苦 kèkǔ hard-working; assiduous
- 苦尽甘来 kǔjìngānlái after suffering comes happiness