珂

kē
noun #23,489

Meanings

  1. 1 jade-like stone
  2. 2 white jade
  3. 3 used in personal names

Examples

HSK 1
Tā de míngzi lǐ yǒu yígè kē zì.
Her name contains the character 珂.
HSK 7-9
Kē zài gǔdài bèi shìwéi zhēnguì de yùshí.
Ke was regarded as a precious jade-like stone in ancient times.

Tips

usage
珂 is rarely used in everyday speech. It appears mainly in literary contexts and personal names, where it conveys elegance and the beauty of jade.

Components

radical
王 wáng
jade (radical form)
王 on the left is the jade radical 玉 in compressed left-side form, the bottom dot dropped. It tags 珂 as a precious-stone word, grouping it with 玛 (agate), 珍 (treasure), and 珠 (pearl).
phonetic
可 kě
can; permit
可 supplies the reading, shifting tone from kě to kē. The same phonetic anchors a wide family - 河 (river), 哥 (elder brother), 何 (what) - all hovering around the ke and he syllables.

Stroke Order

珂 kē