Making Chinese characters easy to write.

Sister Sites

Five Elements Test

About•Privacy Policy•Terms of Service

DICTIONARY

Chinese Dictionary
Pinyin Index
Radical Index
HSK Dictionary
Character Compare

DICTIONARY

Chinese Dictionary
Pinyin Index
Radical Index
HSK Dictionary
Character Compare

TOOLS

Worksheet Generator
HSK Worksheets (PDF)
Pinyin Converter
Chinese Name Generator
Zodiac Calculator
HSK Level Checker
Flashcards
Dictation Practice

TOOLS

Worksheet Generator
HSK Worksheets (PDF)
Pinyin Converter
Chinese Name Generator
Zodiac Calculator
HSK Level Checker
Flashcards
Dictation Practice

LEARN

Learning Center
Blog
Chinese Stroke Rules
Chinese Idioms
Chinese Poetry
Pro Membership ✨

LEARN

Learning Center
Blog
Chinese Stroke Rules
Chinese Idioms
Chinese Poetry
Pro Membership ✨

© 2026 Hanzi Stroke. All rights reserved.

Made with♥for Chinese learners.

残酷 (cán kù): Meaning, Examples & Usage

By CharacterBrowse all characters A-Z

By PinyinSearch by pronunciation

By RadicalFind by radical component

HSK ListsAll HSK versions overview

HSK 2.0 — Current Exam

Practice & Study

Worksheet GeneratorCreate practice sheets for free

Learning Essentials

Home
残酷

残酷 (cán kù): Cruel (Adjective) — Meaning & Stroke Order

Animated Stroke Order

Stroke order SVGs for the characters in 残酷.

Stroke order animation for 残酷

Tap to check free daily limit

Practice writing 残酷 (cán kù) with a free printable worksheet

Download WorksheetDownload

HSK 3.0 — New Syllabus

Level 1 Level 2 Level 3 Level 4 Level 5 Level 6 Level 7-9

HSK WorksheetsDownload HSK 2.0 & 3.0 sheets

HSK Level CheckerCheck HSK level of any text

HSK FlashcardsSRS review for HSK vocabulary

Dictation PracticeListen and write HSK characters

Utilities

Pinyin ConverterConvert Chinese to Pinyin

Name GeneratorCreate your Chinese name

Zodiac CalculatorFind your zodiac animal

8 Basic Strokes GuideHot

Foundation of all characters

Pinyin Tones Guide

4 tones with audio examples

Chinese Handwriting Guide

Daily practice routine

HSK 3.0 Complete GuideNew

New exam format explained

HSK 1 Common Mistakes

Avoid beginner errors

Topics & Culture

Chinese Numbers 1-1000

Count like a native

Time & Dates Guide

Tell time in Chinese

Family Members Guide

30+ family terms

2026 Fire Horse YearHot

Zodiac meaning & luck

Top 100 Characters

Most frequent, free PDF

View All Blog Posts

Character Breakdown

残酷 consists of 2 characters.

incomplete, damaged, or cruel

cruel, severe; cool (loanword)

How to Use 残酷 in Sentences

Common collocations & usage patterns. Learn how to combine 残酷 with other words naturally.

Adverb + Adjectivewith非常

fēi非

cháng常

cán残

kù酷

neutral

extremely cruel

Verb + Adjectivewith变得

biàn变

de得

cán残

kù酷

Adjective + Nounwith现实

cán残

kù酷

de的

xiàn现

shí实

Idiomwith无情

cán残

kù酷

wú无

qíng情

Example Sentences with 残酷

zhàn战

zhēng争

hěn很

cán残

kù酷

。

War is cruel.

neutral

become cruel

neutral

harsh reality

formal

Written

cruel and merciless

shì市

chǎng场

jìng竞

zhēng争

de的

cán残

kù酷

xìng性

，

pò迫

shǐ使

xǔ许

duō多

qǐ企

yè业

bú不

duàn断

chuàng创

xīn新

。

The cruelty of market competition forces many enterprises to innovate continuously.

nǐ你

bù不

jué觉

de得

zhè这

yàng样

duì对

dài待

dòng动

wù物

tài太

cán残

kù酷

le了

ma吗

？

Don't you think treating animals like this is too cruel?

Show 5 More Sentences

zhè这

ge个

bǐ比

sài赛

de的

guī规

zé则

hěn很

cán残

kù酷

，

shū输

de的

rén人

yào要

lì立

kè刻

lí离

kāi开

。

The rules of this competition are harsh; the loser must leave immediately.

jǐn尽

guǎn管

xiàn现

shí实

cán残

kù酷

，

tā他

yī依

lì历

shǐ史

gào告

sù诉

wǒ我

men们

，

dú独

cái裁

tǒng

xiàn现

shí实

yǒu有

shí时

hěn很

cán残

kù酷

，

wǒ我

zhè这

bìng并

fēi非

yí一

gè个

cán残

kù酷

de的

jué决

rán

然

bǎo保

chí持

zhe着

lè乐

guān观

de的

xīn心

tài态

。

Despite the cruel reality, he still maintains an optimistic attitude.

统

zhì治

wǎng往

wǎng往

bàn伴

suí随

zhe着

cán残

kù酷

de的

zhèn镇

yā压

。

History tells us that dictatorial rule is often accompanied by brutal repression.

men

们

bì必

xū须

xué学

huì会

miàn面

duì对

kùn困

nán难

。

Reality can be brutal at times, and we must learn to face difficulties.

dìng

定

，

ér而

shì是

bì必

yào要

de的

qǔ取

shě舍

。

This is not a cruel decision, but a necessary trade-off.

Related Words

More HSK vocabulary that shares characters with 残酷.

Words with 残

伤残shāng cán
凶残xiōng cán
摧残cuī cán
残忍cán rěn
残留cán liú
残疾cán jí
残缺cán quē
残疾人cán jí rén

Words with 酷

冷酷lěng kù
酷似kù sì
冷酷无情lěng kù wú qíng