克
kè
The English word "gram" is translated into Chinese as 克 (kè). Wiktionary also lists 公克 (gōngkè).
Meaning: unit of mass (noun)
Ways to say it
| Chinese | Romanization (Wiktionary) |
|---|---|
| 克 | kè |
| 公克 | gōngkè |
The term is used to denote a unit of mass.
Which one should you use?
While 克 is the standard way to say gram, 公克 is a more formal or technical term used to specify the metric gram to distinguish it from other historical or non-metric units.
How do you pronounce it?
The romanization is kè.
Did you know?
- While 克 is used for grams today, the same character is used in Chinese to mean 'to overcome' or 'to conquer'.
- The character 克 was chosen as a loanword to approximate the sound of the English word 'gram' using an existing character.
- The formal term 公克 uses the character 公 which means 'public'. This is a common pattern in Chinese where metric units are labeled as 'public' to distinguish them from local or traditional units.
Examples in context
- 一百克100 grams
- 五十克糖50 grams of sugar
- 请用克称重Please weigh it in grams
- 五百公克500 grams
- 二十公克面粉20 grams of flour
- 这个包装重三百公克This package weighs 300 grams
- 三百克300 grams
- 十克黄油10 grams of butter
- 五百克Half a kilogram
- 二百克200 grams
- 一克盐1 gram of salt
- 这颗糖只有一克。Zhè kē táng zhǐyǒu yī kè.This candy is only one gram.
- 请称一下这瓶盐是多少克。Qǐng chēng yīxià zhè píng yán shì duōshǎo kè.Please weigh how many grams this bottle of salt is.
- 包装盒上写着一百克。Bāozhuāng hé shàng xiězhe yī bǎi kè.The package says one hundred grams.
Example conversation
Yu Ting and Jun Jie are checking the ingredients for a recipe.
- 雨婷 Yuting俊杰，这包糖是多少克？Jùnjié, zhè bāo táng shì duōshǎo kè?Jun Jie, how many grams is this bag of sugar?
- 俊杰 Junjie我看了一下，是五十克。Wǒ kànle yīxià, shì wǔshí kè.I checked, it is fifty grams.
- 雨婷 Yuting那正好够我们用。Nà zhènghǎo gòu wǒmen yòng.Then it is just enough for us to use.
- 俊杰 Junjie好，那我们开始做吧。Hǎo, nà wǒmen kāishǐ zuò ba.Okay, let's start making it then.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “gram” translations, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
