Indeed Chinese 可 kě

“Indeed” in Chinese 4 – 可 kě

Posted on by tiffany

Grammar Point:
The emphatic adverb 可 kě is used in Chinese to add emphasis to a statement, often conveying a stronger attitude or emotion such as surprise, disagreement, or certainty. It is a casual way to stress a point or to express “indeed.”

Structure

可 kě + V or Adj

可 kě is an informal emphatic adverb commonly used in spoken Chinese, especially in Northern Mandarin. For written or formal contexts, it’s better to use alternatives like 确实 quèshí or 的确 díquè to convey emphasis.

这zhè可kě真zhēn有意思yǒuyìsi！
This is actually quite interesting!
(It shows surprise that it is more interesting than I expected.)

你nǐ可kě来lái了le！
You’re finally here!
(It shows surprise that it took you so long to get here.)

他tā可kě真zhēn行xíng！
He’s really something! / He’s actually quite capable!
(It shows surprise that he’s better than expected.)

这zhè个ge人rén我wǒ可kě不bú认识rènshi！
I definitely don’t know this person!
(it carries a tone of mild surprise or strong assurance.)

这zhè件jiàn事shì我wǒ可kě没méi听说tīngshuō过guò！
I definitely haven’t heard about this matter!
(It conveys that the speaker is not only unfamiliar with the matter but is also emphasizing the fact with an emotional tone of disbelief or surprise.)

这么zhème简单jiǎndān的de问题wèntí， 你nǐ居然jūrán不会búhuì？ 你nǐ可kě得děi多duō学习xuéxí！
You can’t solve such an easy problem? You really need to study more!

教jiāo中文zhōngwén可kě真zhēn不bù容易róngyì！
Teaching Chinese is no easy task!

他tā可kě是shì专业zhuānyè的de厨师chúshī！
He’s truly a professional chef!

这zhè件jiàn事shì可kě大dà了le， 千万qiānwàn不能bùnéng出错chūcuò！
This is a big deal—don’t make any mistakes!

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