可乐
kělè
In Chinese, the word for coke is 可乐 (kělè).
The term 可乐 is used generically to refer to any cola-flavored soft drink, rather than being restricted solely to the Coca-Cola brand.
Meaning: Coca-Cola (noun)
What does it mean word for word?
The word 可乐 (kělè) is a phonetic transliteration of 'cola', and the characters themselves mean 'can be happy' or 'is delightful'.
How do you pronounce it?
kělè
Did you know?
- Because 可乐 means 'can be happy', it is often used as a pun in celebratory messages or brand advertisements to wish someone joy.
- Because it sounds like 'cola' but means 'can be happy', it is a textbook example of a 'lucky' transliteration in Chinese marketing.
- In some Cantonese-speaking regions, the way people refer to soft drinks can differ from the Mandarin 可乐, leading to slight variations in how 'cola' is expressed.
Examples in context
- 他们喝可乐。They drink coke.Tatoeba #7835069 by basilhan, translation #305333 by CK
- 可以给我来两个汉堡和一杯可乐吗？谢谢。Can I have two hamburgers and a coke, please?Tatoeba #13899541 by jan_OkulaJu, translation #34934 by darinmex
- 你喜欢喝可口可乐吗？Do you like to drink Coke?
- 晚餐的时候我会点一杯可乐。I will order a glass of Coke during dinner.
- 和朋友们一起喝可乐很开心。Drinking Coke with friends is very enjoyable.
- 我不想喝可乐。Wǒ bù xiǎng hē kělè.I don't want to drink coke.
Example conversation
At a fast food restaurant, Junjie and Yuting are ordering food.
- 俊杰 Junjie雨婷，你要喝什么？Yǔtíng, nǐ yào hē shénme?Yuting, what do you want to drink?
- 雨婷 Yuting我想喝一杯冰可乐。Wǒ xiǎng hē yì bēi bīng kělè.I want to drink a glass of iced coke.
- 俊杰 Junjie那我也点一杯可乐吧。Nà wǒ yě diǎn yì bēi kělè ba.Then I will order a coke too.
- 雨婷 Yuting好的，俊杰。Hǎo de, Jùnjié.Okay, Junjie.
Sources
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
