Pinyin Syllable
Chinese characters pronounced ke
Learn common Chinese characters pronounced ke, including 可 kě, 克 kè, 科 kē, 客 kè, 刻 kè. Compare tones, meanings, traditional forms, words…
How to Pronounce This Syllable
To say ke, release air on the aspirated k, glide into e, and ride the tone — keep it joined as one sound.
Initial k
Start the syllable on the initial k, then run straight into the final e — keep them joined instead of sounding out separate English letters.
Final e
Settle the final e into a steady mouth shape first, then lay the tone on top.
Study Tip
Start with the most common characters (可 kě, 克 kè, 科 kē, 客 kè, 刻 kè) and lock in their tones. 12 common characters share the sound ke, so lean on words to tell the rest apart.
Learn by Tone
ke turns up here with 4 different tones; a change of tone usually means a different character, so the groups below are split by tone.
1st tone
Taking the 1st tone here: 科, 颗, 柯… (4 in total). Lock this tone in your ear before the meaning.
2nd tone
Taking the 2nd tone here: 壳, 咳 (2 in total). Lock this tone in your ear before the meaning.
3rd tone
Taking the 3rd tone here: 可, 渴 (2 in total). Lock this tone in your ear before the meaning.
4th tone
Taking the 4th tone here: 克, 客, 刻… (4 in total). Lock this tone in your ear before the meaning.
Common Words With This Sound
Seeing ke inside whole words makes it clear which character is meant — here are common ones.
Characters
12 common characters in this group.