可口 (kě kǒu) — tasty, delicious | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

可口 (kěkǒu) is a written, slightly formal 'tasty, delicious' — mainly for food, often in reviews or descriptions. For everyday speech prefer 好吃.

adjective

tastydelicious

Examples

可口。
Zhè ge dàn gāo hěn kě kǒu.
This cake is very tasty.
可口。
Mā ma zuò de cài fēi cháng kě kǒu.
The dishes Mom makes are very delicious.
可口。
Zhè zhǒng shuǐ guǒ yòu tián yòu kě kǒu.
This kind of fruit is both sweet and tasty.

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

An action followed by what it acts on, fused into one word.

“可” contributes the sense of suiting, and “口” contributes mouth, giving suitable to the mouth.

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

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.

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

The form 口 looks like an open mouth.

Appears in

HSK 3.0 Level 6 HSK 2.0 Level 6 Flavors & Seasonings

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