可

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See also: 句
可 U+53EF, 可
CJK UNIFIED IDEOGRAPH-53EF
← 叮
[U+53EE] 		CJK Unified Ideographs 台 →
[U+53F0]
Text style Emoji style
🉑︎ 🉑️
Text style is forced with ⟨︎⟩ and emoji style with ⟨️⟩.
🉑 U+1F251, 🉑
CIRCLED IDEOGRAPH ACCEPT
[unassigned: U+1F252–U+1F25F]
← 🉐
[U+1F250] 		Enclosed Ideographic Supplement 🉠 →
[U+1F260]

Translingual

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Stroke order
5 strokes
Stroke order

Han character

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可 (Kangxi radical 30, 口+2, 5 strokes, cangjie input 一弓口 (MNR), four-corner 10620, composition ⿹丁口)

Derived characters

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Descendants

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References

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  • Kangxi Dictionary: page 172, character 12
  • Dai Kanwa Jiten: character 3245
  • Dae Jaweon: page 383, character 7
  • Hanyu Da Zidian (first edition): volume 1, page 567, character 7
  • Unihan data for U+53EF

Chinese

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simp. and trad.
 可

Glyph origin

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Historical forms of the character 可
Shang Western Zhou Spring and Autumn Warring States Shuowen Jiezi (compiled in Han) Liushutong (compiled in Ming)
Oracle bone script Bronze inscriptions Bronze inscriptions Chu slip and silk script Qin slip script Small seal script Transcribed ancient scripts
Characters in the same phonetic series (可) (Zhengzhang, 2003) 
Old Chinese
砢 *ɡ·raːlʔ
柯 *kaːl
菏 *kaːl, *ɡaːl
牁 *kaːl
滒 *kaːl
哥 *kaːl
歌 *kaːl
謌 *kaːl
鴚 *kaːl
哿 *kaːlʔ
舸 *kaːlʔ
笴 *kaːlʔ, *kaːnʔ
軻 *kʰaːl, *kʰaːlʔ, *kʰaːls
珂 *kʰaːl
可 *kʰaːlʔ
岢 *kʰaːlʔ
坷 *kʰaːlʔ, *kʰaːls
蚵 *kʰaːls, *ɡaːl
呵 *qʰaːl, *qʰaːls
訶 *qʰaːl
抲 *qʰaːl
荷 *qʰaːls, *ɡaːl, *ɡaːlʔ
何 *ɡaːl, *ɡaːlʔ
河 *ɡaːl
苛 *ɡaːl
魺 *ɡaːl
袔 *ɡaːls
阿 *qaːl
妸 *qaːl, *qaːlʔ
疴 *qaːl, *kʰraːls
鈳 *qaːl
娿 *qaːl, *qaːlʔ
痾 *qaːl
跒 *kʰraːlʔ
閜 *qʰraːlʔ

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *kʰaːlʔ) : semantic 口 + phonetic 丂 (OC *kʰluːʔ) with a reference to exhaled air. Perhaps its original meaning was "to sing", then 訶 and 哥 (可 written twice).

Etymology 1

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From Proto-Sino-Tibetan *m-kal ~ *s-gal (“back (lower); kidney; load; carry”) (STEDT). Cognate with 荷 (OC *qʰaːls, *ɡaːl, *ɡaːlʔ, “to carry”). See there for more.

Pronunciation

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Note:
  • khó/khóⁿ - literary;
  • khóa - vernacular.
Rime
Character 可
Reading # 1/1
Initial (聲) 溪 (29)
Final (韻) 歌 (94)
Tone (調) Rising (X)
Openness (開合) Open
Division (等) I
Fanqie 枯我切
Baxter khaX
Reconstructions
Zhengzhang
Shangfang 		/kʰɑX/
Pan
Wuyun 		/kʰɑX/
Shao
Rongfen 		/kʰɑX/
Edwin
Pulleyblank 		/kʰaX/
Li
Rong 		/kʰɑX/
Wang
Li 		/kʰɑX/
Bernhard
Karlgren 		/kʰɑX/
Expected
Mandarin
Reflex 		kě
Expected
Cantonese
Reflex 		ho2
Baxter–Sagart system 1.1 (2014)
Character 可
Reading # 1/1
Modern
Beijing
(Pinyin) 		kě
Middle
Chinese 		‹ khaX ›
Old
Chinese 		/*[k]ʰˁa[j]ʔ/
English may; acceptable

Notes for Old Chinese notations in the Baxter–Sagart system:

* Parentheses "()" indicate uncertain presence;
* Square brackets "[]" indicate uncertain identity, e.g. *[t] as coda may in fact be *-t or *-p;
* Angle brackets "<>" indicate infix;
* Hyphen "-" indicates morpheme boundary;

* Period "." indicates syllable boundary.
Zhengzhang system (2003)
Character 可
Reading # 1/1
No. 7446
Phonetic
component 		可
Rime
group 		歌
Rime
subdivision 		1
Corresponding
MC rime 		可
Old
Chinese 		/*kʰaːlʔ/

Definitions

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可

  1. can; may; be able to
    可溶  ―  kěróng  ―  soluble
    可大可小  ―  kě dà kě xiǎo  ―  can be serious or minor
    這袋子可盛五十公斤。 [MSC, trad.]
    这袋子可盛五十公斤。 [MSC, simp.]
    Zhè dàizi kě shèng wǔshí gōngjīn. [Pinyin]
    This bag can hold 50 kilos.
    他沒有家可住。／他没有家可住。  ―  Tā méiyǒu jiā kě zhù.  ―  He had no place to live.
  2. to approve; to permit
    許可／许可  ―  xǔkě  ―  to permit, to allow
    認可／认可  ―  rènkě  ―  to approve
  3. to fit; suit
    可心  ―  kěxīn  ―  satisfying
    可口  ―  kěkǒu  ―  tasty
  4. to be worth doing
    可愛／可爱  ―  kě'ài  ―  cute; adorable (literally, “worth loving”)
    可歌可泣  ―  kěgēkěqì  ―  epic; moving (literally, “worth praising and crying over”)
    四川可玩的地方太多了。 [MSC, trad. and simp.]
    Sìchuān kě wán de dìfang tài duō le. [Pinyin]
    There are too many places in Sichuan worth visiting.
  5. but; however
    Synonym: 可是 (kěshì)
  6. A particle.
    1. (archaic or dialectal or in greetings) Used to form a question.
      您一向可好？  ―  Nín yīxiàng kě hǎo?  ―  How have you been lately?
      你可知罪？  ―  Nǐ kě zhī zuì?  ―  Do you comprehend of you committing the crime?
    2. (archaic or dialectal) Used to form a rhetorical question.
    3. Used in declarative sentences for emphasis.
      我喜歡的運動可多了。 [MSC, trad.]
      我喜欢的运动可多了。 [MSC, simp.]
      Wǒ xǐhuan de yùndòng kě duō le. [Pinyin]
      There are many sports that I like.
      我可不太知道。  ―  Wǒ kě bù tài zhīdào.  ―  I don't really know.
    4. Used in exclamatory sentences for emphasis.
      這可不行啊！／这可不行啊！  ―  Zhè kě bùxíng a!  ―  But this won't do!
    5. Used in imperative sentences for emphasis.
  7. (literary) about; around
  8. (literary) to recover completely (from an illness)
Usage notes
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When Mandarin speakers wish to imitate the sound of the dialectal pronunciation of 可 in written form, the character 闊／阔 (kuò) is often used to substitute for 可.

闊以／阔以  ―  kuòyǐ  ―  imitates the sound of 可以 (kěyǐ) in dialectal Chinese
闊落／阔落  ―  kuòluò  ―  imitates the sound of 可樂／可乐 (kělè) in dialectal Chinese

Compounds

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Etymology 2

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Pronunciation

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Definitions

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可

  1. Only used in 可汗 (kèhán).

Etymology 3

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For pronunciation and definitions of 可 – see 嗬 (“(Cantonese) Sentence-final particle used in an interrogative seeking confirmation”).
(This character is a variant form of 嗬).

Japanese

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Kanji

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可

(Fifth grade kyōiku kanji)

  1. allow, permit
  2. can; be able to

Readings

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  • Go-on: か (ka, Jōyō)
  • Kan-on: か (ka, Jōyō)
  • On: こく (koku)
  • Kun: よい (yoi, 可い)、べし (beshi, 可し)、ばかり (bakari)

Compounds

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Compounds of 可
Common
Uncommon
Archaic / rare

Etymology

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Kanji in this term
可
か
Grade: 5
on'yomi

From Middle Chinese 可 (MC khaX).

Noun

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可(か) • (ka) 

  1. C (academic letter grade); passable
  2. allowed
    再(さい)配(はい)布(ふ)が可(か)の画(が)像(ぞう)[1]
    saihaifu ga ka no gazō
    images whose redistribution is allowed
    持(も)ち込(こ)み可(か)
    mochikomi ka
    bringing in [something: notes to a test, etc.] allowed

Suffix

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可(か) • (-ka) 

  1. permitted, allowed, licensed
  2. -able; can be done

Korean

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Etymology 1

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Hanja

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可 (eumhun 옳을 가 (oreul ga))

  1. hanja form? of 가 (“possible; allowed”)

Etymology 2

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Hanja

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可 (eumhun 오랑캐 극 (orangkae geuk))

  1. hanja form? of 극 (“barbarian”)

Vietnamese

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Han character

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可: Hán Nôm readings: khả, khá, tài

  1. This term needs a translation to English. Please help out and add a translation, then remove the text {{rfdef}}.
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