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可kě(particle used for emphasis) certainly; very

HSK 3word

By Chinese Copilot · Last updated

可 (kě) means emphatic "really" or "certainly" before an adjective (often 可 + Adj. + 了), and can also mean "but" or "however" as a conjunction. It is informal and spoken. Permission "can/may" belongs on 可以; this page is the emphasis and contrast reading.

What does 可 mean?

  1. 1.

    (particle used for emphasis) certainly; veryadverb

  2. 2.

    but; howeverconjunction

What does the character 可 mean?

  • 可(particle used for emphasis) certainly; very

How do you use 可?

Grammar patterns

  1. 1

    可 + Adj. + 了

    Put 可 before an adjective (usually with 了) to intensify it, stronger than a plain 很 and tied to the speaker's expectations.

  2. 2

    可 + Verb Phrase

    可 can also emphasize a verb phrase in spoken Chinese (for example with 别).

Emphatic 可 is informal and often spoken; for permission "can/may," use the separate word 可以 instead of bare 可.

Patterns

  • 可 + Adj. + 了

    他可好了！

    Tā kě hǎo le!

    He is really great!

  • 可 + 别 + Verb

    你可别走！

    Nǐ kě bié zǒu!

    Don't you go!

  • …，可 …

    我想去，可现在不行。

    Wǒ xiǎng qù, kě xiàn zài bù xíng.

    I want to go, but I can't right now.

What are some examples of 可 in a sentence?

  1. HSK 1

    他可好了！

    Tā kě hǎo le!

    He is really great!

  2. HSK 1

    这个可好了！

    Zhège kě hǎo le!

    This is really good!

  3. HSK 1

    你可别走！

    Nǐ kě bié zǒu!

    Don't you go! / You really must not leave!

  4. HSK 1

    我想去，可现在不行。

    Wǒ xiǎng qù, kě xiànzài bùxíng.

    I want to go, but I can't right now.

How is 可 different from 可以

可以 asks or gives permission ("may" / "can"). Bare 可 on this page is emphatic (可好了) or contrastive ("but"), not the permission auxiliary. For "May I go?" use 可以, not 可 alone.

Only 可 fits here

他可好了！

Tā kě hǎo le!

He is really great!

How is 可 used in a conversation?

  1. Speaker A:

    他怎么样？

    Tā zěnmeyàng?

    How is he?

  2. Speaker B:

    他可好了！

    Tā kě hǎo le!

    He is really great!

  3. Speaker A:

    这个好吗？

    Zhège hǎo ma?

    Is this good?

  4. Speaker B:

    这个可好了！

    Zhège kě hǎo le!

    This is really good!

  5. Speaker A:

    我现在走。

    Wǒ xiànzài zǒu.

    I'm leaving now.

  6. Speaker B:

    你可别走！

    Nǐ kě bié zǒu!

    Don't you go!

Can you use 可 correctly?

0 of 3 answered
  1. 1.Fill in the blank: 他___好了！
  2. 2.Which sentence uses emphatic 可?
  3. 3.Fill in the blank: 你___别走！

What should you learn next?

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English glosses on this page are adapted from CC-CEDICT, published by MDBG (snapshot 2026-10-23), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Glosses were edited for learners.