可爱
kě'ài
The English word 'lovely' can be translated into Chinese as 可爱 (kě'ài).
While 'lovely' in English can describe a wide range of pleasant things, 可爱 is most frequently used to describe things that are 'cute' or 'adorable', such as children, animals or charming personalities. To express an exclamation such as 'How lovely!', you can use the pattern '多么 [adjective] 啊'.
Meaning: beautiful, charming, very pleasing in form, looks, tone, or manner (adj)
What does it mean word for word?
The word 可爱 is composed of 可, meaning 'can' or 'able to' and 爱, meaning 'love'. Literally, it means 'can be loved' or 'lovable'.
Which one should you use?
The term 美丽 (měi lì) also means 'beautiful' and can be used to convey a sense of loveliness, but it is more formal. For a colloquial way to emphasize extreme cuteness, you can use the intensified version 可爱极了 (kě ài jí le).
How does it change in a sentence?
When using 可爱 as a predicate to describe a noun (for example, 'He is lovely'), you should typically place an adverb of degree like 很 (hěn – very) before it, rather than using the verb 'to be' (是).
How do you pronounce it?
kě'ài
Did you know?
- In modern Chinese internet slang, 可爱 is sometimes used sarcastically to describe someone who has done something foolish or clumsy, similar to calling someone 'precious' in English.
- The word 可爱 is closely linked to the cultural concept of 萌 (méng), a term borrowed from Japanese 'moe' to describe a specific type of heart-melting cuteness.
- The character 爱 (ài) in 可爱 is written differently in Simplified Chinese than in Traditional Chinese, where it originally included the character for 'heart' (心) in the center.
Examples in context
- 这张照片上有四个可爱的孩子。There are four lovely children in this photo.This sentence shows how to use 可爱 to describe children in a photo.Tatoeba #3377919 by GlossaMatik, translation #3377920 by _undertoad
- 我妻子34岁了，她是个可爱的人。My wife's 34 and she's a lovely person.This sentence demonstrates using 可爱 to describe a person's personality.Tatoeba #9316577 by slo_oth, translation #8457061 by Ricardo14
- 多可爱啊！How lovely!This sentence illustrates the pattern for making an exclamation with 可爱.Tatoeba #5092632 by mirrorvan, translation #1913086 by CK
- 你的微笑很美丽Your smile is lovely.
- 这只小狗很可爱This puppy is lovely.
- 这只小猫咪太萌萌哒了This little kitten is incredibly lovely.
- 2 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Two friends are looking at a picture of a puppy.
- 俊杰 Junjie快看，这只小狗太可爱了！Kuài kàn, zhè zhī xiǎo gǒu tài kě'ài le!Look quickly, this puppy is so lovely!
- 晓雯 Xiaowen是的，它的眼睛圆圆的。Shì de, tā de yǎnjīng yuán yuán de.Yes, its eyes are round.
- 俊杰 Junjie我想买一只这么可爱的狗。Wǒ xiǎng mǎi yì zhī zhème kě'ài de gǒu.I want to buy a dog as lovely as this one.
- 晓雯 Xiaowen那我们可以一起去宠物店。Nà wǒmen kěyǐ yìqǐ qù chǒngwù diàn.Then we can go to the pet store together.
Sources
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
