Chinese words starting with “ke”
48 words in our HSK vocabulary start with the syllable ke. They are sorted by how common they are, so the ones you are most likely to meet come first. The 19 most useful of them have their own page — they are listed first below.
Initial k · final e · hear the four tones and see example characters →
- 1st tone 10
- 2nd tone 1
- 3rd tone 20
- 4th tone 17
Word counts by tone are counted on the first syllable of each word.
Common words with this syllable
- 可以kě yǐHSK 2
can; may; possible; able to; not bad; pretty good
- 可能kě néngHSK 2
might (happen); possible; probable; possibility; probability; maybe; perhaps
- 可是kě shìHSK 2
but; however; (used for emphasis) indeed
- 可爱kě àiHSK 2
adorable; cute; lovely
- 客户kè hùHSK 5
client; customer
- 科学kē xuéHSK 2
science; scientific knowledge; scientific; rational
- 可怜kě liánHSK 5
pitiful; pathetic; to have pity on
- 可怕kě pàHSK 2
awful; dreadful; fearful; formidable; frightful; scary; hideous; horrible; terrible; terribly
- 科技kē jìHSK 3
science and technology
- 客人kè rénHSK 2
visitor; guest; customer; client
- 课程kè chéngHSK 3
course; academic program
- 科学家kē xué jiāHSK 2
scientist
- 可靠kě kàoHSK 3
reliable
- 克服kè fúHSK 3
(try to) overcome (hardships etc); to conquer; to put up with; to endure
- 客观kè guānHSK 3
objective; impartial
- 可乐kě lèHSK 3
amusing; entertaining; (loanword) cola
- 课堂kè tángHSK 2
classroom
- 课本kè běnHSK 1
textbook
- 课文kè wénHSK 1
text
All 48 words
| # | Word | Pinyin | POS | Meaning | Study list |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 可 | kě | v,c,d | (prefix) can; may; able to; -able; to approve; to permit; to suit; (particle used for emphasis) certainly; very | |
| 2 | 克 | kè | g,q,b,v | to be able to; to subdue; to restrain; to overcome; gram; Tibetan unit of land area, about 6 ares | |
| 3 | 颗 | kē | q | classifier for small spheres, pearls, corn grains, teeth, hearts, satellites etc | |
| 4 | 课 | kè | n | subject; course; class; lesson; to levy; tax; form of divination | |
| 5 | 科 | kē | n | branch of study; administrative section; division; field; branch; stage directions; family (taxonomy); rules; laws; to mete out (punishment); to levy (taxes etc); to fine sb | |
| 6 | 可惜 | kě xī | v,a | it is a pity; what a pity; unfortunately | |
| 7 | 渴望 | kě wàng | v,vn | to thirst for; to long for | |
| 8 | 刻 | kè | v,qt | quarter (hour); moment; to carve; to engrave; to cut; oppressive; classifier for short time intervals | |
| 9 | 棵 | kē | q | classifier for trees, cabbages, plants etc | |
| 10 | 客气 | kè qi | a,ad | polite; courteous; formal; modest | |
| 11 | 可笑 | kě xiào | a,an | funny; ridiculous | |
| 12 | 客厅 | kè tīng | n | drawing room (room for arriving guests); living room | |
| 13 | 可疑 | kě yí | a | suspicious; dubious | |
| 14 | 咳嗽 | ké sou | v | to cough | |
| 15 | 可恶 | kě wù | a | repulsive; vile; hateful; abominable | |
| 16 | 克隆 | kè lóng | v,vn | clone (loanword) | |
| 17 | 可行 | kě xíng | a | feasible | |
| 18 | 可悲 | kě bēi | a | lamentable | |
| 19 | 刻意 | kè yì | d | intentionally; deliberately; purposely; painstakingly; meticulously | |
| 20 | 可不是 | kě bu shì | that's just the way it is; exactly! | ||
| 21 | 可见 | kě jiàn | v,c | it can clearly be seen (that this is the case); it is (thus) clear; clear; visible | |
| 22 | 课题 | kè tí | n | task; problem; issue | |
| 23 | 渴 | kě | a,v | thirsty | |
| 24 | 客房 | kè fáng | n | guest room; room (in a hotel) | |
| 25 | 科研 | kē yán | n | (scientific) research | |
| 26 | 磕 | kē | v | to tap; to knock (against sth hard); to knock (mud from boots, ashes from a pipe etc) | |
| 27 | 可信 | kě xìn | a,an | trustworthy | |
| 28 | 可耻 | kě chǐ | a | shameful; disgraceful; ignominious | |
| 29 | 克制 | kè zhì | v,vn | to restrain; to control; restraint; self-control | |
| 30 | 苛刻 | kē kè | a | harsh; severe; demanding | |
| 31 | 可谓 | kě wèi | v | it could even be said | |
| 32 | 颗粒 | kē lì | n | kernel; granule; granulated (sugar, chemical product) | |
| 33 | 可观 | kě guān | a | considerable; impressive; significant | |
| 34 | 科幻 | kē huàn | b,n | science fiction; abbr. for 科学幻想 | |
| 35 | 刻苦 | kè kǔ | a,ad | hardworking; assiduous | |
| 36 | 可口 | kě kǒu | a | tasty; to taste good | |
| 37 | 客机 | kè jī | n | passenger plane | |
| 38 | 科目 | kē mù | n | academic subject; field of study | |
| 39 | 可贵 | kě guì | a | to be treasured; praiseworthy | |
| 40 | 客车 | kè chē | n | coach; bus; passenger train | |
| 41 | 科普 | kē pǔ | b | (attributive) popular science; (coll.) to explain in layperson's terms; abbr. for 科学普及 | |
| 42 | 可想而知 | kě xiǎng ér zhī | v | it is obvious that...; as one can well imagine... | |
| 43 | 客运 | kè yùn | n | passenger transportation; (Tw) intercity bus | |
| 44 | 刻不容缓 | kè bù róng huǎn | v | to brook no delay; to demand immediate action | |
| 45 | 可乘之机 | kě chéng zhī jī | l | an opportunity that someone (usually a villain or adversary) can exploit | |
| 46 | 客流 | kè liú | n | passenger flow; customer flow | |
| 47 | 可歌可泣 | kě gē kě qì | v | lit. you can sing or you can cry (idiom); fig. deeply moving; happy and sad; inspiring and tragic | |
| 48 | 刻舟求剑 | kè zhōu qiú jiàn | lit. a notch on the side of a boat to locate a sword dropped overboard (idiom); fig. an action made pointless by changed circumstances |
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