HSK 3

可爱 (kě ài) — how to say "cute" in Chinese

可爱

Cute

adjective

Character composition

可

can, possible

爱

to love

Radicals / Keys

口

Mouth

#30 · kǒu · 3 strokes

爪

Claw

#87 · zhǎo · 4 strokes

Collocations

可爱的孩子

kě'ài de háizi

cute child

可爱的小猫

kě'ài de xiǎomāo

cute kitten

Examples

她笑起来有两个酒窝,看起来特别可爱。

She has two dimples when she smiles, she looks especially cute.

这只小猫真可爱。

This kitten is so cute.

Mnemonic

Mnemonic for 可爱 (kě ài) — cute

[kě ài-] Captain Aye spies a 可 cute dolphin 🐬 performing tricks, leaping through a heart-shaped hoop with "爱 can love" written on it. Captain Aye chuckles and exclaims: "Ahoy! This dolphin is truly 可爱 cute!"

Writing

Frequently asked questions

How do you say "cute" in Chinese?

"cute" in Chinese is 可爱 (kě ài).

可爱 meaning in English

可爱 (kě ài) means "Cute".

Cute in Chinese pinyin

It is pronounced kě ài (written as ke ai, keai). You can listen to the pronunciation on this page.

How do you write "cute" in Chinese characters?

It is written 可爱: 可 has 5 strokes, 爱 has 10 strokes. The Writing section above animates the stroke order of each character and lets you trace it.

What HSK level is 可爱?

可爱 belongs to the HSK 3 vocabulary list.

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