可好 (kě hǎo) — (colloquial) as luck would have it; just in time; by chance

Definition

可好 (kě) is a colloquial marker meaning 'as it happened' or 'just then' — often used to introduce a lucky or timely coincidence, not a question.

verb
(colloquial) as luck would have itjust in timeby chance

Examples

  • ，可好。
    Wǒ zhèng yào dǎ diàn huà, kě hǎo nǐ lái le.
    I was about to call, and just then you came.
  • 可好，。
    kě hǎo Jīn tiān xià yǔ, wǒ men bú yòng qù gōng yuán le.
    As luck would have it, it rained today, so we don't have to go to the park.
  • ，可好。
    Tā gāng chū mén, kě hǎo kuài dì dào le.
    He had just left when the package arrived just in time.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéSide by side

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

可kějust
好hǎofitting

可 and 好 both suggest a fitting moment, so together they mean just in time.

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 →

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

好 joins 女 (woman) and 子 (child), understood as a woman with a child, linked to goodness or affection.

Open 好 →

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