kuā

姱

Character · Adjective · VerbTraditional誇

excellent; praise; exaggerate

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Meanings

2 senses · 5 examples
1.

adjective

fine; beautiful; excellent

literary

Used as a classical or literary adjective. In modern usage, this sense is rare and the character is more commonly used to mean 'to praise' or 'to exaggerate'.

 《
Chǔ楚
cí辞
 》
zhōng中
yǒu有
 “
kuā夸
róng容
xiū修
tài态
 ”
zhī之
jù句
 。

In the 'Songs of Chu', there is a line that says 'beautiful countenance and graceful posture'.

Gǔ古
dài代
shī诗
wén文
cháng常
yǐ以
 “
kuā夸
 ”
xíng形
róng容
měi美
hǎo好
de的
shì事
wù物
 。

Classical poetry and prose often used 'kuā' to describe beautiful things.

2.

verb

to praise; to boast; to exaggerate

neutral

This is the most common modern meaning. It often has a neutral or slightly negative connotation when implying exaggeration.

Tā他
zǒng总
ài爱
kuā夸
zì自
jǐ己
de的
ér儿
zi子
cōng聪
míng明
 。

He always likes to praise how smart his son is.

Guǎng广
gào告
lǐ里
de的
huà话
bù不
néng能
quán全
xìn信
 ,
yǒu有
xiē些
shì是
kuā夸
dà大
de的
 。

You can't fully believe what advertisements say; some of it is exaggerated.

Show 1 more example
Tā她
tài太
qiān谦
xū虚
le了
 ,
cóng从
bù不
zì自
kuā夸
 。

She is too modest and never boasts about herself.