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可口可乐 (kě kǒu kě lè) — Coca-Cola

Definition

noun
Coca-Cola
Measure word · 瓶

Examples

  • 可口可乐。
    Wǒ mǎi le yì píng kě kǒu kě lè.
    I bought a bottle of Coca-Cola.
  • 可口可乐。
    kě kǒu kě lè Shì shì jiè shàng zuì zhù míng de yǐn liào zhī yī.
    Coca-Cola is one of the most famous beverages in the world.
  • 可口可乐？
    Nǐ hē kě kǒu kě lè hái shì bǎi shì kě lè?
    Do you drink Coca-Cola or Pepsi?

Origin

Single-morpheme word
构词法gòucífǎ
音译yīnyìTransliteration

The characters spell the sound of a foreign word; their individual meanings play no part.

可kě
口kǒu
可kě
乐lè

The characters 可口可乐 together spell the foreign brand name and do not carry separate meanings.

Sound-only characters

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 form 口 looks like an open mouth.

Open 口 →

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 →

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 樂; 乐 is its simplified writing.

In the traditional form 樂, 絲 (string) with 木 (wood) shows strings on a piece of wood, a musical instrument; the simplified 乐 is a later shorthand.

Open 乐 →
Appears in
Beverages

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