Mnemonic comic for 可

Translation

kě = k + e3: can / may / able to / to approve / to permit / to suit / (particle used for emphasis) certainly / very

Mnemonic

A mnemonic is a short, deliberately ridiculous scene, built to be hard to forget. Who appears in it and where it takes place are how the pronunciation is stored; the objects in it stand for the parts the character is written with. That is the Marilyn Method, and the comic below is the same scene, drawn.

Karl Marx (k) grills a kebab (可) over the fireplace in the elevator’s living room (e3). He pushes a nail (丁) through a mandarin (口) so its juice drips onto the sizzling meat, then hands the glistening kebab to his hungry guest with a nod: now you may (可) eat.

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All translations for 可

可
kě = k + e3
can / may / able to / to approve / to permit / to suit / (particle used for emphasis) certainly / very
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可
kè = k + e4
used in 可汗[ke4 han2]
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How to pronounce 可

MandarinBanana teaches pronunciation with the Marilyn Method: every Pinyin syllable is one initial plus one final, the initial becomes a person, an animal or a deity, and the final becomes a place in your memory palace — with the tone deciding which part of that place the scene happens in. Remember the little story below for each half and the whole syllable comes back with them.

= k initial

K is for Karl Marx.

By Matthias • updated 20 days ago
+ e3 final

In the elevator’s living room.

By Matthias • updated 4 months ago
= k initial

K is for Karl Marx.

By Matthias • updated 20 days ago
+ e4 final

In the elevator’s bathroom.

By Matthias • updated 20 days ago

可 character breakdown

Chinese characters are built out of smaller characters. Each component carries a mnemonic symbol - one concrete object that stands in for it - and a mnemonic story hands those objects to the person and the place that stand for the pronunciation. Learn a component once and every character that reuses it gets easier.

Component Translations
丁
dīng = di + (e)ng1
male adult / the 4th of the 10 Heavenly Stems 天干[tian1 gan1] / fourth (used like "4" or "D") / small cube of meat or vegetable / (literary) to encounter / (archaic) ancient Chinese compass point: 195° / (chemistry) butyl
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口
kǒu = k + ou3
mouth / classifier for things with mouths (people, domestic animals, cannons, wells etc) / classifier for bites or mouthfuls
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Characters with 可 as component

哥
gē = g + e1
elder brother
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河
hé = h + e2
river / CL:條|条[tiao2],道[dao4]
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奇
jī = ji + Ø1
odd (number)
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Words with 可

show 570 more
can / may / possible / able to / not bad / pretty good
might (happen) / possible / probable / possibility / probability / maybe / perhaps / CL:個|个[ge4]
but / however / (used for emphasis) indeed
Sentences with 可
但
dàn
不
bù
知
zhī
大
dà
王
wáng
 
 
海
hǎi
里
lǐ
可
kě
能
néng
去
qù
得
de

Want to remember 可 for good?

Make it your learning target and MandarinBanana works out the shortest route to it: the two sounds its syllable is built from, then the components of the character itself, one short step at a time. No account needed to start.

可
kě / kè

2 translations

Prompt snippets

The kebab is a classic shish kebab on a long, flat steel skewer with a looped ring handle: chunks of charred, juicy grilled lamb alternate with pieces of red bell pepper and white onion, glistening with oil and flecked with green herbs.

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