Meaning of 克
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- to be able to
- to subdue
- to restrain
- to overcome
- gram
- Tibetan unit of land area, about 6 ares
- abbr. for 克羅地亞|克罗地亚[Ke4 luo2 di4 ya4], Croatia
- (Tw) abbr. for 克羅埃西亞|克罗埃西亚[Ke4 luo2 ai1 xi1 ya4], Croatia
- variant of 克[ke4]
- to subdue
- to overthrow
- to restrain
- variant of 剋|克[ke4]
How to use 克
As a measure word, 克 means gram and appears on food labels and in recipes, for example 一百克糖 (yìbǎi kè táng) 100 grams of sugar. As a verb meaning to overcome or restrain, it mostly lives inside compounds like 克服 (kèfú) and 克制 (kèzhì). It is also a common sound in loanwords such as 巧克力 (qiǎokèlì) chocolate.
Picture 克 (kè) as a person wearing a heavy helmet (the top part 古-like shape) standing firm on two legs (儿 at the bottom). Someone strong enough to carry that weight can overcome anything, and they measure it gram by gram.
Common mistake: Learners often mix up 克 (kè) with 兑 (duì) or 免 (miǎn), which also end in 儿-like legs; 克 has 十 on top and a closed 口 box in the middle. Also remember that a kilogram is 千克 (qiānkè) or 公斤 (gōngjīn), not just 克.
克 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Stroke order for each character
Open a character for its meaning, components and more words.
克 kè · to be able to · 7 strokes
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Related words
Words that share a character with 克.
| 千克 | qiānkè | kilogram |
| 克服 | kèfú | (try to) overcome (hardships etc); to conquer |
| 巧克力 | qiǎokèlì | (loanword) chocolate |
| 坦克 | tǎnkè | (loanword) tank (military vehicle); (derog.) (slang) overweight woman |
| 扑克 | pūkè | poker (game) (loanword); playing cards |
| 克制 | kèzhì | to restrain; to control |
| 休克 | xiūkè | (medicine) (loanword) shock; to go into shock |
| 克隆 | kèlóng | (biology) (loanword) to clone; a clone; (fig.) to make an identical copy of (a website etc |
| 麦克 | Màikè | (loanword) microphone |
| 马克 | Mǎkè | mark (monetary unit) |
| 克拉 | kèlā | carat (mass) (loanword) |
| 贝克 | Bèikè | becquerel (unit of radioactivity, symbol Bq) (abbr. for 貝克勒爾|贝克勒尔[bei4 ke4 le4 er3]) |
Questions about 克
What does 克 mean?
克 (kè) means "to be able to; to subdue" and is used as a measure word.
How do you write 克?
克 is made of 1 character: 克 (7 strokes). That is 7 strokes in total.
Is 克 an HSK word?
Yes. 克 is on the HSK 2 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
What is the difference between 克 and 公斤?
克 (kè) is one gram, while 公斤 (gōngjīn) is one kilogram, the same as 千克 (qiānkè). In everyday shopping people usually say 公斤 or 斤 (jīn, half a kilogram), and 克 is used for small amounts.
Why does 克 appear in so many foreign words?
Its sound kè is a handy match for the syllables "k" or "c" in other languages, so it is used purely for sound in words like 扑克 (pūkè) poker, 坦克 (tǎnkè) tank and 克罗地亚 (Kèluódìyà) Croatia. In those words it carries no meaning of overcoming or grams.