酷

• Pinyin: kù
• Hanzi breakdown: 酷 = 酉 (wine vessel) + 告 (announce), originally meaning harsh/extreme

Meaning

Cool; awesome; stylish. Also: cruel, harsh (classical meaning).

In modern colloquial usage, borrowed from English 'cool' to mean stylish, impressive, or admirable. The classical meaning of harsh/cruel (酷刑 = cruel punishment, 残酷 = brutal) still exists in formal contexts. Among young people, 酷 is universally positive. Common phrases: 好酷 (so cool), 酷毙了 (super cool).

Examples

1. 他穿着一身黑色皮衣，骑着摩托车，看起来特别酷。 He was wearing all black leather and riding a motorcycle; he looked really cool.
2. 这个乐队的现场表演太酷了，全场观众都疯狂了。 This band's live performance was so cool that the whole audience went crazy.
3. 她觉得沉默寡言的男生很酷，话多的反而让她觉得没意思。 She thinks quiet guys are cool; talkative ones seem boring to her.

Usage Guide

Context: youth culture, fashion, entertainment

Tone: admiring

Do Say

• 你今天的穿搭好酷！(Your outfit today is so cool!)
• 这首歌太酷了。(This song is so cool.)

Don't Say

• 在正式文章中用酷表示'时髦' (In formal writing, use 时尚 or 潮流 instead of the colloquial 酷)

Origin & History

Classical meaning: 酷 = 酉 (wine jar) + 告, originally meant fermented/strong, then extended to harsh/cruel. Modern 'cool' meaning is a phonetic loan from English 'cool' that became popular in the 1990s.

Cultural Context

Era: 1990s-present

Generation: Younger generations primarily

Social background: Universal