engrave, cut fine, chop, hash, mince, time, carving
刻 centers on cutting or marking with precision: engraving, carving, chopping, or mincing. The time sense comes from the idea of marking time in fine increments, like notches on a sundial.
刻 combines 亥 (a pictograph of a pig or boar, here used phonetically for 'koku') with 刂 (knife), suggesting cutting or carving with a blade. The time meaning likely developed from the idea of marking or notching time intervals.
A knife 刂 cutting into a pig 亥: imagine carving fine lines into meat, chopping it into pieces, or engraving a mark. This precision cutting also reminds you of marking time in small slices.
For コク, picture a cook engraving a design on a roast: cook -> コク, and the cook uses a knife to carve fine details.
serious; severe; grave; acute
time; (the) hour
lateness; tardiness; arriving late
to mince; to cut fine; to chop up; to hash; to shred
republication; reissue; reprinting; reproduction
carving; engraving; sculpture
period of time (usu. a period of approx. two hours corresponding to one of the signs of the Chinese zodiac)
engraving a seal; engraved seal; inscribed seal
a moment; a minute; an instant
mincing; cutting; chopping; notch; nick
immediately; at once; instantly
moment by moment; hour by hour
evening; evening hour
appointed time; timetable; schedule
mincing; chopping finely
concealed pung; concealed three-of-a-kind
to hew; to chop up; to mangle; to mince
seal engraving
pung; three-of-a-kind
a short while ago; just now