HSK 5 · Adjectives

可靠 kěkào “reliable” in Chinese

Same in Traditional

What 可靠 means

  1. reliable

How to say 可靠

  • Pitch chart of the third tone: dips low then rises, 2 to 1 to 4 on the five-level scale可kě3rd tone, dipping
  • Pitch chart of the fourth tone: falls from high to low, 5 to 1 on the five-level scale靠kào4th tone, falling

可靠 in a sentence

  1. 你是我最可靠的朋友。

    Nǐ shì wǒ zuì kěkào de péngyou.

    You’re the most reliable friend I have.

    Sentence #2306749 from Tatoeba · translation adapted

  2. 天气预报一点也不可靠。

    Tiānqì yùbào yìdiǎn yě bù kěkào.

    The weather forecast is not reliable at all.

    Sentence #400068 from Tatoeba

  3. 他们不可靠。

    Tāmen bù kěkào.

    They’re unreliable.

    Sentence #10287444 from Tatoeba · converted to simplified characters · translation adapted

How 可靠 is built

Each colour is one part of the character. Parts repeat across thousands of characters, so learning them makes new words easier. See all 214 in our radicals chart.

The character 可 (kě) with each of its parts in a different colour
可kěcan; may; able to; -able
  • 丁part of the characterMeaning part
  • 口mouth · kǒuSound part

Memory aidPicture a mouth 口 saying yes: can, may.

The character 靠 (kào) with each of its parts in a different colour
靠kàoto lean against or on
  • 告to tell · gàoSound part
  • 非wrong · fēiMeaning part

非 hints at the meaning (wrong); 告 (gào) hints at the sound. Compare it with kào.

How to write 可靠

可 5 strokes · 靠 15 strokes

Watch the order, then press Try writing it and draw each stroke in the grid. Each stroke is checked as you go.

可靠 (kěkào) stroke order chart: each stroke of the characters in the order you write them
Stroke order chart for 可靠 (kěkào). Red marks the next stroke, so you can copy it onto paper one step at a time.

Words related to 可靠

Words with 可

可以kěyǐ · can可能kěnéng · maybe可kě · but可爱kě'ài · cute可怜kělián · pitiful可惜kěxī · it is a pity可是kěshì · but可怕kěpà · awful可见kějiàn · it can clearly be seen (that this is the case)宁可nìngkě · preferably

Words with 靠

靠kào · to lean on靠拢kàolǒng · to draw close依靠yīkào · to rely on

More words: Adjectives

巨大jùdà · huge具体jùtǐ · specific绝对juéduì · absolute均匀jūnyún · even可怕kěpà · awful刻苦kèkǔ · hardworking客观kèguān · objective烂làn · rotten

FAQs

可靠 (kěkào) means “reliable”. It is an HSK 5 word.
Say it kěkào: kě with a 3rd tone, then kào with a 4th tone. Press Listen at the top of this page to hear it, or Slowly to hear each tone clearly.
Yes. 可靠 is written the same way in Simplified and Traditional characters.
Add a Chinese (Simplified) pinyin keyboard to your phone or computer, type kekao with no tone marks or spaces, then choose 可靠 from the suggestions. Typing kekao into this dictionary’s search box finds it too.
可靠 is an HSK 5 word in the HSK 2.0 word lists.

Turn words into conversations

A dictionary gives you the words. A native teacher shows you how to use them. Start with a free 30-minute intro call.

Book a free intro call

Sources: meaning and pinyin checked by a native Mandarin teacher against the official HSK lists. Extra meanings from CC-CEDICT (CC BY-SA 4.0). Example sentences from Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR). Character parts and stroke order from Make Me a Hanzi.