可愛

Chinese

		can; may; able to can; may; able to; certain(ly); to suit; (particle used for emphasis)	to love; affection; to be fond of to love; affection; to be fond of; to like
trad. (可愛)		可	愛
simp. (可爱)		可	爱

Etymology

Literally, "capable (of being) loved", "lovable".

Pronunciation

• Mandarin

  (Pinyin): kě'ài

  (Zhuyin): ㄎㄜˇ ㄞˋ

• Cantonese (Jyutping): ho² oi³
• Hakka (Pha̍k-fa-sṳ): khó-oi
• Min Nan (POJ): khó-ài

---

• Mandarin
  • (Standard Chinese, Beijing)⁺
    • Pinyin: kě'ài
    • Zhuyin: ㄎㄜˇ ㄞˋ
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: keeay
    • IPA ^(key): /kʰɤ²¹⁴⁻²¹¹ ˀaɪ̯⁵¹/

    • (file)

• Cantonese
  • (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou)⁺
    • Jyutping: ho² oi³
    • Yale: hó oi
    • Cantonese Pinyin: ho² oi³
    • IPA ^(key): /hɔː³⁵ ɔːi̯³³/
• Hakka
  • Romanisations:
    • Pha̍k-fa-sṳ: khó-oi
    • IPA (Siyen, including Miaoli): /kʰo³¹ o̯i⁵⁵/
• Min Nan
  • (Hokkien)
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: khó-ài
    • Tâi-lô: khó-ài
    • IPA (Taipei): /kʰə⁴¹⁻⁴⁴ aɪ¹¹/
    • IPA (Zhangzhou): /kʰə⁵³⁻³⁴ aɪ²¹/

Adjective

可愛

1. cute; adorable; lovable, loveable

See also

• (Min Nan) 婟婎, 古錐／古锥 (kó·-chui)
• (Japanese) 可愛い (kawaii)