Meaning of 咖啡
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- (loanword) coffee
Measure word: 杯
How to use 咖啡
咖啡 is the everyday word for coffee, and it combines easily into words like 咖啡馆 (kāfēiguǎn) café and 咖啡因 (kāfēiyīn) caffeine. Use the measure word 杯 (bēi) for a cup. Example: 我想喝一杯咖啡。(Wǒ xiǎng hē yì bēi kāfēi.) I want to drink a cup of coffee.
Both characters have the mouth radical 口 on the left, a common sign that a character is used for its sound in a loanword. Say 咖啡 (kāfēi) out loud and you hear "coffee," something you put in your mouth.
Common mistake: Learners often read 咖 as gā because of 咖喱 (gālí) curry, but in 咖啡 it is kā. Also keep both syllables in the first tone, kāfēi, and do not say it like English "COF-fee" with a falling second syllable.
咖啡 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.
咖 kā · coffee · 8 strokes
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啡 fēi · coffee · 11 strokes
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Related words
Words that share a character with 咖啡.
| 咖啡馆 | kāfēiguǎn | café; coffee shop |
| 咖啡店 | kāfēidiàn | café; coffee shop |
| 吗啡 | mǎfēi | morphine (loanword) |
| 咖喱 | gālí | (loanword) curry |
| 咖啡厅 | kāfēitīng | coffee shop |
| 咖啡因 | kāfēiyīn | caffeine (loanword) |
| 咖哩 | kālǐ | (Tw) (loanword) curry; colloquial pr. [ga1li3] or [ga1li2] |
| 咖啡机 | kāfēijī | coffee machine; coffee maker |
| 咖啡豆 | kāfēidòu | coffee beans |
| 咖啡壶 | kāfēihú | coffee pot; coffee maker |
Questions about 咖啡
What does 咖啡 mean?
咖啡 (kāfēi) means "(loanword) coffee" and is used as a noun.
How do you write 咖啡?
咖啡 is made of 2 characters: 咖 (8 strokes), 啡 (11 strokes). That is 19 strokes in total.
Is 咖啡 an HSK word?
Yes. 咖啡 is on the HSK 3 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
How do I order coffee in Chinese at a café?
You can say 我要一杯咖啡 (wǒ yào yì bēi kāfēi), I would like a cup of coffee. For iced coffee say 冰咖啡 (bīng kāfēi), and for hot coffee say 热咖啡 (rè kāfēi).
Why does 吗啡 (mǎfēi) morphine share the character 啡 with coffee?
啡 is used mainly for its sound fēi in loanwords. It appears in both 咖啡 and 吗啡 because both words were borrowed from foreign sounds, not because they are related in meaning.