Meaning of 可乐
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- amusing
- entertaining
- (loanword) cola
How to use 可乐
In everyday speech 可乐 almost always means cola, and you will see it on menus and in shops. A common phrase is 可口可乐 (Kěkǒu Kělè) for Coca-Cola. Example: 我要一杯可乐。(Wǒ yào yì bēi kělè.) I'd like a glass of cola.
可乐 (kělè) is built from 可 (kě, can) and 乐 (lè, happy), so think of it as a drink that "can make you happy." The sound kělè is also close to the English word "cola," which is why it was chosen.
Common mistake: Learners often read 乐 as yuè because of 音乐 (yīnyuè, music), but in 可乐 it is always lè. Also keep the first syllable in the third tone, kě, as in 可以 (kěyǐ).
可乐 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.
可 kě · can · 5 strokes
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- 2
- 3
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- 5
乐 lè · happy · 5 strokes
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Related words
Words that share a character with 可乐.
Questions about 可乐
What does 可乐 mean?
可乐 (kělè) means "amusing; entertaining" and is used as a noun.
How do you write 可乐?
可乐 is made of 2 characters: 可 (5 strokes), 乐 (5 strokes). That is 10 strokes in total.
Is 可乐 an HSK word?
Yes. 可乐 is on the HSK 3 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
How is 可乐 written in traditional Chinese?
In traditional characters, 可乐 is written 可樂.
How do I say Pepsi or diet cola in Chinese?
Pepsi is 百事可乐 (Bǎishì Kělè). Diet cola is usually called 无糖可乐 (wú táng kělè), meaning sugar-free cola, or 健怡可乐 (Jiànyí Kělè) for Diet Coke.
Does 可乐 still mean amusing in modern Chinese?
The sense of amusing or funny exists, as in 这件事真可乐 (zhè jiàn shì zhēn kělè, this is really funny), but it is mostly heard in casual northern speech. In most situations people will understand 可乐 as the drink.