Wiktionary

可

See also: 句
可 U+53EF, 可
CJK UNIFIED IDEOGRAPH-53EF
← 叮
[U+53EE] 		CJK Unified Ideographs 台 →
[U+53F0]
Emoji u1f251.svg
🉑 U+1F251, 🉑
CIRCLED IDEOGRAPH ACCEPT
[unassigned: U+1F252–U+1F25F]
← 🉐
[U+1F250] 		Enclosed Ideographic Supplement 🉠 →
[U+1F260]

TranslingualEdit

Stroke order
 
Stroke order
 

Han characterEdit

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

Derived charactersEdit

DescendantsEdit

ReferencesEdit

  • KangXi: 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

ChineseEdit

simp. and trad.
 可

Glyph originEdit

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 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, OC *kʰaːlʔ): semantic 口 + phonetic 丂 (OC *kʰluːʔ).

Etymology 1Edit

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.

PronunciationEdit

Note:
  • khó/khóⁿ - literary;
  • khóa - vernacular.
  • Wu
    • 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
    Reconstructions
    Zhengzhang
    Shangfang         		/kʰɑX/
    Pan
    Wuyun         		/kʰɑX/
    Shao
    Rongfen         		/kʰɑX/
    Edwin
    Pulleyblank         		/kʰaX/
    Li
    Rong         		/kʰɑX/
    Wang
    Li         		/kʰɑX/
    Bernard
    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/

    DefinitionsEdit

    可

    1. can, may, be able to
      可能 (kěnéng, “possibly”)
      可以 (kěyǐ, “can”)
      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. Particle used for emphasis.
      我可不太知道。  ―  Wǒ kě bù tài zhīdào.  ―  I don't really know.
      這可不行啊！ / 这可不行啊！  ―  Zhè kě bùxíng a!  ―  But this won't do!
    3. to approve, to permit
      許可／许可 (xǔkě, “to permit, to allow”)
      認可／认可 (rènkě, “to approve”)
    4. to suit
      可心 (kěxīn, “satisfying”)
    5. to be worth doing
      展覽的確可看。 / 展览的确可看。  ―  Zhǎnlǎn díquè kě kàn.  ―  The exhibition is really worth seeing.
    6. Prefix attached to verbs, expressing possibility and turning them into adjectives. Similar to the English suffix -able.
      可吃  ―  kěchī  ―  edible
      可愛 / 可爱  ―  kě'ài  ―  lovely
      可憐 / 可怜  ―  kělián  ―  pitiful
    7. but
      Synonym: 可是 (kěshì)
    Usage notesEdit

    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

    CompoundsEdit

    Derived terms from 可

    Etymology 2Edit

    PronunciationEdit

    DefinitionsEdit

    可

    1. Only used in 可汗 (kèhán).

    Etymology 3Edit

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

    JapaneseEdit

    KanjiEdit

    可

    (grade 5 “Kyōiku” kanji)

    ReadingsEdit

    CompoundsEdit

    Compounds of 可
    Common
    Uncommon


    Archaic / rare

    EtymologyEdit

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

    From Middle Chinese 可 (MC kʰɑX).

    NounEdit

    可(か) • (ka) 

    1. 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

    SuffixEdit

    可(か) • (-ka) 

    1. permitted, allowed, licensed

    KoreanEdit

    Etymology 1Edit

    HanjaEdit

    可 (eumhun 옳을 가 (oreul ga))

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

    Etymology 2Edit

    HanjaEdit

    可 (eumhun 오랑캐 극 (orangkae geuk))

    1. Hanja form? of 극 (“barbarian”).

    VietnameseEdit

    Han characterEdit

    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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