ENGLISH

KAO is a medium-size but high-frequency Mandarin syllable family.
Its meanings revolve around:

1️⃣ to test / to examine
2️⃣ to roast / bake / grill
3️⃣ to depend on / rely on
4️⃣ to lean on / press close
5️⃣ to get near / approach
6️⃣ onomatopoetic / slang intensifier (靠!)
7️⃣ old surname / ancient places

The KAO family has five major cores:

1️⃣ 考 kǎo — to test; to examine; to check
2️⃣ 烤 kǎo — to roast; grill; bake
3️⃣ 靠 kào — to depend on; lean on; rely
4️⃣ 铐 kào — handcuffs
5️⃣ 犒 kào — reward with food/drink (troops etc.)

Secondary:

6️⃣ 拷 kǎo — to copy (manually); to interrogate (old-style)
7️⃣ 栲 kǎo — tannin-bearing tree
8️⃣ 尻 kāo — buttocks (archaic)
9️⃣ 洘 kǎo — muddy water (rare)

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DEUTSCH

KAO ist eine mittelgroße, aber sehr nützliche Silbenfamilie.
Sie umfasst:

1️⃣ prüfen / testen
2️⃣ backen / grillen / rösten
3️⃣ sich anlehnen / verlassen auf
4️⃣ hernanrücken / nahe sein
5️⃣ saloppes Fluchwort („靠!“)
6️⃣ Handschellen / Belohnung / botanische Begriffe

Die fünf Kernzentren:

1️⃣ 考 kǎo — prüfen; Test; Examen
2️⃣ 烤 kǎo — grillen; backen; rösten
3️⃣ 靠 kào — sich verlassen auf; lehnen
4️⃣ 铐 kào — Handschellen
5️⃣ 犒 kào — belohnen; Verpflegung geben (Truppen)

Weitere:

6️⃣ 拷 kǎo — abschreiben; verhören (alt)
7️⃣ 栲 kǎo — Gerbstoff-Baum
8️⃣ 尻 kāo — Gesäß (klassisch)

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🧩 1. CORE MEANING FIELDS — KAO (EN / DE)

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⭐ 2) KAO-CORE #1 — 考 kǎo (to test; to examine)

Extremely important for school, university & work exams.

A) test / check

• 考试 kǎoshì — exam

• 考核 kǎohé — assess; evaluate

• 考查 kǎochá — investigate; inspect

B) consider / think about (formal)

• 思考 sīkǎo — think deeply

C) ancestor (classical)

• 考妣 kǎobǐ — deceased parents

Example

明天我们考试。
Míngtiān wǒmen kǎoshì.
EN: We have an exam tomorrow.
DE: Morgen schreiben wir eine Prüfung.

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⭐ 3) KAO-CORE #2 — 烤 kǎo (roast; grill; bake)

Common in food contexts.

Food

• 烤肉 kǎoròu — barbecue

• 烤鸡 kǎojī — roasted chicken

• 烤鱼 kǎoyú — grilled fish

• 烤面包 kǎo miànbāo — bake bread

Figurative

• 被烤问 bèi kǎowèn — be grilled/interrogated

• 烤得不行 kǎo de bùxíng — “burned up / roasted” (hot weather)

Example

我想吃烤鱼。
Wǒ xiǎng chī kǎoyú.
EN: I want to eat grilled fish.
DE: Ich möchte gegrillten Fisch essen.

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⭐ 4) KAO-CORE #3 — 靠 kào (to depend on; lean on; near to)

Very common in daily speech.

A) rely on

• 靠你了！kào nǐ le — it depends on you

• 靠山 kàoshān — backing; support

B) physical leaning

• 靠在墙上 kào zài qiáng shàng — lean on the wall

C) near / next to

• 靠近 kàojìn — to approach

• 靠窗 kào chuāng — seat near window

D) slang expression

靠！kào! — “Damn!” / “Shit!” (mild swear word)

Example

我靠你帮忙。
Wǒ kào nǐ bāngmáng.
EN: I rely on your help.
DE: Ich verlasse mich auf deine Hilfe.

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⭐ 5) KAO-CORE #4 — 铐 kào (handcuffs)

Police vocabulary.

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⭐ 6) KAO-CORE #5 — 犒 kào (to reward with food/drink)

Literary & military.

• 犒赏 kàoshǎng — reward soldiers

• 犒军 kàojūn — feed/reward the troops

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⭐ 7) Additional KAO Words

拷 kǎo — to copy manually; to interrogate

• 拷贝 kǎobèi — copy (file)

• 拷问 kǎowèn — interrogate (old style)

栲 kǎo — tannin-bearing tree

Used in botany.

尻 kāo — buttocks

Rare/classical.

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📊 MINI-COMPARISON TABLE — KAO

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🗣 EXAMPLE SENTENCES (EN / DE + Pinyin)

考 kǎo — test

你准备好考试了吗？
Nǐ zhǔnbèi hǎo kǎoshì le ma?
EN: Are you ready for the exam?
DE: Bist du bereit für die Prüfung?

烤 kǎo — grill

烤肉很好吃。
Kǎoròu hěn hǎochī.
EN: Barbecue is delicious.
DE: Gegrilltes Fleisch ist lecker.

靠 kào — rely

我们只能靠自己。
Wǒmen zhǐ néng kào zìjǐ.
EN: We can only rely on ourselves.
DE: Wir können uns nur auf uns selbst verlassen.

靠 kào — near

靠近点儿。
Kàojìn diǎnr.
EN: Come a bit closer.
DE: Komm ein bisschen näher.

铐 kào — handcuffs

警察给他上了手铐。
Jǐngchá gěi tā shàngle shǒukào.
EN: The police put handcuffs on him.
DE: Die Polizei legte ihm Handschellen an.

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📚 Kurz-Zusammenfassung (EN / DE)

ENGLISH

KAO includes test (考),
roast/bake (烤),
rely/lean (靠),
handcuffs (铐),
reward troops (犒),
plus copying/interrogating (拷).
A highly practical, everyday family.

DEUTSCH

KAO umfasst prüfen (考),
grillen/backen (烤),
sich verlassen auf / lehnen (靠),
Handschellen (铐),
Truppen belohnen (犒)
sowie abschreiben/verhören (拷).
Eine sehr praxisnahe Silbenfamilie.