Meaning of 卡
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- to stop
- to block
- (computing) (coll.) slow
- (loanword) card
- truck (from "car")
- calorie (abbr. for 卡路里[ka3 lu4 li3])
- cassette
Measure word: 張|张,片
- to block
- to be stuck
- to be wedged
- customs station
- a clip
- a fastener
- a checkpost
- Taiwan pr. [ka3]
How to use 卡
As kǎ, it most often means card, as in 信用卡 (xìnyòngkǎ) credit card and 银行卡 (yínhángkǎ) bank card, and it also appears in sound loanwords like 卡车 (kǎchē) truck and 卡通 (kǎtōng) cartoon. In casual speech 卡 (kǎ) also describes a slow, lagging phone or computer. Example: 我的手机很卡。(Wǒ de shǒujī hěn kǎ.) My phone is really laggy.
卡 is made of 上 (shàng, up) on top of 下 (xià, down). Picture something wedged between up and down, unable to move either way, which is why it can mean stuck, and a flat card can slide into that tight gap.
Common mistake: Learners often say kǎ for every meaning, but being physically stuck is usually qiǎ, as in 鱼刺卡在喉咙里 (yúcì qiǎ zài hóulóng lǐ), a fish bone is stuck in the throat. Also do not confuse 卡 with 上 or 下 alone when writing quickly; 卡 needs both parts stacked.
卡 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.
卡 kǎ · to stop · 5 strokes
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
Related words
Words that share a character with 卡.
| 信用卡 | xìnyòngkǎ | credit card |
| 银行卡 | yínhángkǎ | bank card |
| 贺卡 | hèkǎ | greeting card; congratulation card |
| 卡车 | kǎchē | truck |
| 卡片 | kǎpiàn | card |
| 卡通 | kǎtōng | cartoon (loanword) |
| 磁卡 | cíkǎ | magnetic card; IC Card (telephone) |
| 卡子 | qiǎzi | clip; hair fastener |
| 一卡通 | yīkǎtōng | the name of various contactless smart cards, notably Yikatong (mainly for public transport |
| 卡拉 | Kǎlā | karaoke; (Tw) (of chicken etc) crispy, deep-fried |
| 卡住 | kǎzhù | to jam; to choke |
| 可卡因 | kěkǎyīn | cocaine (loanword) |
Questions about 卡
What does 卡 mean?
卡 (kǎ) means "to stop; to block" and is used as a noun and verb.
How do you write 卡?
卡 is made of 1 character: 卡 (5 strokes). That is 5 strokes in total.
Is 卡 an HSK word?
Yes. 卡 is on the HSK 2 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
How do I say I want to pay by card in Chinese?
You can say 我刷卡 (wǒ shuā kǎ), literally I swipe the card. 刷卡 (shuākǎ) is the everyday word for paying with a card.
Does 卡 mean calorie?
Yes, 卡 (kǎ) is a short form of 卡路里 (kǎlùlǐ), calorie. On food labels you will often see 千卡 (qiānkǎ), meaning kilocalorie.