挖苦
wā kǔ
Pinyin

Definition

挖苦
 - 
wā kǔ
  1. to speak sarcastically
  2. to make cutting remarks

Character Decomposition

Related Words (20)

痛苦
tòng kǔ
  1. 1 pain
  2. 2 suffering
  3. 3 painful
  4. 4 CL:個|个[gè]
苦
kǔ
  1. 1 bitter
  2. 2 hardship
  3. 3 pain
  4. 4 to suffer
  5. 5 to bring suffering to
  6. 6 painstakingly
辛苦
xīn kǔ
  1. 1 exhausting
  2. 2 hard
  3. 3 tough
  4. 4 arduous
  5. 5 to work hard
  6. 6 to go to a lot of trouble
  7. 7 hardship(s)
何苦
hé kǔ
  1. 1 why bother?
  2. 2 is it worth the trouble?
刻苦
kè kǔ
  1. 1 hardworking
  2. 2 assiduous
千辛万苦
qiān xīn wàn kǔ
  1. 1 to suffer untold hardships (idiom); trials and tribulations
  2. 2 with difficulty
  3. 3 after some effort
受苦
shòu kǔ
  1. 1 to suffer hardship
吃苦
chī kǔ
  1. 1 to bear hardships
命苦
mìng kǔ
  1. 1 to be born under an ill star
挖
wā
  1. 1 to dig
  2. 2 to excavate
  3. 3 to scoop out
挖掘
wā jué
  1. 1 to excavate
  2. 2 to dig
  3. 3 to unearth
艰苦
jiān kǔ
  1. 1 difficult
  2. 2 hard
  3. 3 arduous
苦力
kǔ lì
  1. 1 bitter work
  2. 2 hard toil
  3. 3 (loanword) coolie, unskilled Chinese laborer in colonial times
苦命
kǔ mìng
  1. 1 hard lot
  2. 2 bitter fate
  3. 3 unfortunate
苦工
kǔ gōng
  1. 1 hard labor (in penal code)
  2. 2 coolie
苦心
kǔ xīn
  1. 1 painstaking effort
  2. 2 to take a lot of trouble
  3. 3 laborious at pains
苦闷
kǔ mèn
  1. 1 depressed
  2. 2 dejected
  3. 3 feeling low
苦恼
kǔ nǎo
  1. 1 vexed
  2. 2 distressed
苦涩
kǔ sè
  1. 1 bitter and astringent
  2. 2 pained
  3. 3 agonized
苦瓜
kǔ guā
  1. 1 bitter melon (bitter gourd, balsam pear, balsam apple, leprosy gourd, bitter cucumber)

Idioms (20)

不胜其苦
bù shèng qí kǔ
  1. 1 unable to bear the pain (idiom)
倒悬之苦
dào xuán zhī kǔ
  1. 1 lit. the pain of being hanged upside down (idiom); fig. extremely critical situation
  2. 2 dire straits
备尝辛苦
bèi cháng xīn kǔ
  1. 1 to have suffered all kinds of hardships (idiom)
冥思苦想
míng sī kǔ xiǎng
  1. 1 to consider from all angles (idiom); to think hard
  2. 2 to rack one's brains
冥思苦索
míng sī kǔ suǒ
  1. 1 to mull over (idiom)
  2. 2 to think long and hard
刻苦耐劳
kè kǔ nài láo
  1. 1 to bear hardships and work hard (idiom); assiduous and long-suffering
  2. 2 hard-working and capable of overcoming adversity
千辛万苦
qiān xīn wàn kǔ
  1. 1 to suffer untold hardships (idiom); trials and tribulations
  2. 2 with difficulty
  3. 3 after some effort
叫苦不迭
jiào kǔ bu dié
  1. 1 to complain without stopping (idiom); to bitch endlessly
  2. 2 incessant grievances
叫苦连天
jiào kǔ lián tiān
  1. 1 to whine on for days (idiom)
  2. 2 to endlessly grumble complaints
  3. 3 incessant whining
吃苦耐劳
chī kǔ nài láo
  1. 1 hardworking and enduring hardships (idiom)
同甘共苦
tóng gān gòng kǔ
  1. 1 shared delights and common hardships (idiom); to share life's joys and sorrows
  2. 2 for better or for worse
含辛茹苦
hán xīn rú kǔ
  1. 1 to suffer every possible torment (idiom); bitter hardship
  2. 2 to bear one's cross
哑巴吃黄连，有苦说不出
yǎ ba chī huáng lián , yǒu kǔ shuō bu chū
  1. 1 to be forced to suffer in silence (idiom)
  2. 2 unable to speak of one's bitter suffering
  3. 3 sometimes written 啞子吃黃連，有苦說不出|哑子吃黄连，有苦说不出
嘴甜心苦
zuǐ tián xīn kǔ
  1. 1 sweet mouth, bitter heart (idiom); insincere flattery
埋头苦干
mái tóu kǔ gàn
  1. 1 to bury oneself in work (idiom); to be engrossed in work
  2. 2 to make an all-out effort
  3. 3 up to the neck in work
坚苦卓绝
jiān kǔ zhuó jué
  1. 1 persisting despite trials and tribulations (idiom); conspicuous determination
孤苦伶仃
gū kǔ líng dīng
  1. 1 solitary and impoverished (idiom)
小洞不堵，大洞受苦
xiǎo dòng bù dǔ , dà dòng shòu kǔ
  1. 1 A small hole not plugged will make you suffer a big hole (idiom); A stitch in time saves nine.
小洞不堵，大洞吃苦
xiǎo dòng bù dǔ , dà dòng chī kǔ
  1. 1 a small hole not plugged will give you grief when it gets bigger (idiom)
  2. 2 a stitch in time saves nine
小洞不补大洞吃苦
xiǎo dòng bù bǔ dà dòng chī kǔ
  1. 1 A small hole not plugged will make you suffer a big hole (idiom); a stitch in time saves nine

Sample Sentences

你怎么老挖苦我？再说了，这只是归纳了一些特点，根本没有解释原因。依我看，这是现实、潜意识和想象力的结合。以前遇到过相似的情景加上心理强化的作用，就有了这种感觉。
nǐ zěnme lǎo wākǔ wǒ ？zài shuō le ，zhè zhǐshì guīnà le yīxiē tèdiǎn ，gēnběn méiyǒu jiěshì yuányīn 。yī wǒ kàn ，zhè shì xiànshí 、qián yìshí hé xiǎngxiànglì de jiéhé 。yǐqián yùdào guò xiāngsì de qíngjǐng jiāshàng xīnlǐ qiánghuà de zuòyòng ，jiù yǒu le zhè zhǒng gǎnjué 。
Why do you always have to tease me? And furthermore, this is just a summary of some characteristics, it doesn't really offer an explanation of the reasons. As far as I can see, this is a fusion of real life, the subconscious and the imagination. When you've experienced similar stuff in the past, added to the amplifying effect of your mind, you end up with this feeling.
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嗨，振华，别挖苦我了。最近我和丽丽出了点问题。
hāi ，Zhènhuá ，bié wākǔ wǒ le 。zuìjìn wǒ hé Líli chū le diǎn wèntí 。
Hey, Zhen Hua, don’t get sarcastic with me. Lately there’s been a little problem between Lili and me.
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是呀。我想这也是中西方文化的不同。以讽刺挖苦的口吻开玩笑在西方是很正常的。我感觉中国人比较好面子，所以比较忌讳别人拿自己的一些不足开玩笑。其实开玩笑的人并无意取笑这个缺陷，只是想用幽默的方式让话题变得更轻松些。有时候善意的讽刺只是一种幽默。
shì ya 。wǒ xiǎng zhè yě shì zhōngxīfāng wénhuà de bùtóng 。yǐ fěngcì wākǔ de kǒuwěn kāiwánxiào zài xīfāng shì hěn zhèngcháng de 。wǒ gǎnjué Zhōngguórén bǐjiào hào miànzi ，suǒyǐ bǐjiào jìhuì biérén ná zìjǐ de yīxiē bùzú kāiwánxiào 。qíshí kāiwánxiào de rén bìng wúyì qǔxiào zhège quēxiàn ，zhǐshì xiǎng yòng yōumò de fāngshì ràng huàtí biànde gèng qīngsōng xiē 。yǒushíhou shànyì de fěngcì zhǐshì yīzhǒng yōumò 。
Yeah. I think that's the difference between Chinese and Western humor. In the West, it's normal to make sarcastic, cutting jokes. I think Chinese people are more concerned with ''face," so they're more sensitive about others making jokes about their short-comings. Actually, the person telling the joke really wasn't intentionally making fun of the short-coming. They're just trying to use humor to lighten the mood. Sometimes, well-intentioned satire is just a kind of humor.
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