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可不 (kě bù) — (colloquial fixed phrase) you're absolutely right; isn't that so?; exactly

Definition

可不 (kě) is a fixed colloquial phrase used as an emphatic tag to agree with the speaker — "exactly!" or "isn't that so!" It is spoken-only and often shortened to 可不是吗.

verb
(colloquial fixed phrase) you're absolutely rightisn't that so?exactly

Examples

  • ！可不！。
    Jīn tiān zhēn rè! kě bù! wǒ dōu kuài chū hàn le.
    It's really hot today! Exactly! I'm almost sweating.
  • ？可不，。
    Nǐ zuì jìn gōng zuò hěn máng ba? kě bù, tiān tiān jiā bān.
    You've been busy with work lately, right? You're right, working overtime every day.
  • 。可不，。
    Zhè dào cài tài xián le. kě bù, wǒ yě shì zhè me jué de.
    This dish is too salty. Absolutely, I think so too.

Origin

Characters in this word

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
口口kǒu
Sound part声符shēngfú
丂
丂kǎo可kě
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

可 pairs 口 (mouth) with 丂 as a sound part; it is tied to air from the mouth, perhaps singing.

Open 可 →

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

The picture in 不 originally showed a flower’s calyx; the “no” sense came later from a related character, not from this picture.

Open 不 →
Appears in
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