咖 (kā): coffee, class, grade
咖 (kā) is a Chinese character meaning “coffee.” Classified as HSK Level 2 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of 口 (semantic) and 加 (phonetic). It ranks #2309 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).
Etymologically derived, 咖 mouth. Its radical form 口 (mouth) appears in many related characters such as 口 (kǒu, mouth), 叫 (jiào, to call, to be called), 右 (yòu, (bound form) right).
Definitions
- coffee
- class
- grade
Etymology & Origin
Stroke Order
Practice writing 咖 with real-time feedback — trace each stroke in the correct order and build muscle memory in the HanziFeed app.
Words & Compounds
HSK Vocabulary with 咖
Common Compounds
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 咖啡店noun | kā fēi diàn | café |
| 咖啡馆noun | kā fēi guǎn | café |
| 咖啡因noun | kā fēi yīn | caffeine (loanword) |
| 咖喱noun | gā lí | (loanword) curry |
| 咖啡豆noun | kā fēi dòu | coffee beans |
| 咖啡壶noun | kā fēi hú | coffee pot |
| 咖啡屋noun | kā fēi wū | coffee house |
| 咖啡色noun | kā fēi sè | coffee color |
| 咖喱粉noun | gā lí fěn | curry powder |
| 大咖noun | dà kā | (coll.) major figure |
| 卡布其诺咖啡 | kǎ bù qí nuò kā fēi | cappuccino coffee |
| 无咖啡因 | wú kā fēi yīn | decaffeinated |
| 咖位 | kā wèi | (coll.) prestige |
| 美式咖啡noun | měi shì kā fēi | caffè americano |
| 脱咖啡因 | tuō kā fēi yīn | decaffeinated |
咖 appears in 40 compound words: 48 as the first character, 18 as the last, and 35 in a middle position. Compound statistics computed from SUBTLEX-CH and HSK 3.0 vocabulary data.
Strongest Collocations
Characters that most frequently co-occur with 咖 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.
Idioms & Chengyu (1)
Example Sentences
妈妈咖嘱我要按时吃饭，注意身体健康。
mā mā gā zhǔ wǒ yāo àn shí chī fàn , zhù yì shēn tī jiàn kāng .
Mom reminded me to eat on time and take care of my health.
抢攻中间选民!他曝“蓝营3大咖”出手了:恢复亲美友日路线
qiǎng gōng zhōng jiān xuǎn mín ! tā pù lán yíng 3 dà kā chū shǒu le : huī fù qīn měi yǒu rì lù xiàn
Attack the middle voters! He revealed that the "3 big names in the blue camp" have taken action: to restore the pro-American and friendly Japanese line
旅游网红教“饭店咖啡机洗内裤”炎上 IG回应了
lǚ yóu wǎng hóng jiào fàn diàn kā fēi jī xǐ nèi kù yán shàng I G huí yīng le
Travel Internet celebrities teach "hotel coffee machine washing underwear" on IG responded
科学家突破超疏水材料热稳定性难题,让热咖啡、热牛奶不再粘壁
kē xué jiā tū pò chāo shū shuǐ cái liào rè wěn dìng xìng nán tí , ràng rè kā fēi , rè niú nǎi bù zài nián bì
Scientists have broken through the problem of thermal stability of superhydrophobic materials, so that hot coffee and hot milk no longer stick to the wall
每天喝咖啡和茶 失智风险最高降三成
měi tiān hē kā fēi hé chá shī zhì fēng xiǎn zuì gāo jiàng sān chéng
Drinking coffee and tea every day reduces the risk of dementia by up to 30%
独家/疑不满出餐太慢! 复古咖啡厅男乱泼美式
dú jiā yí bù mǎn chū cān tài màn ! fù gǔ kā fēi tīng nán luàn pō měi shì
Exclusive/Suspected that the food is too slow! Retro café men splash American style
咖啡里加了什么呀？
Kāfēi lǐ jiā le shénme ya?
What's in the coffee?
汤姆对咖啡因有依赖，是吗？
Tāngmǔ duì kāfēiyīn yǒu yīlài, shì ma?
Tom has a caffeine dependency, doesn't he?
恐怕咖啡已经喝完了。
Kǒngpà kāfēi yǐjīng hē wánle.
I'm afraid there isn't any coffee left.
我不习惯喝无糖咖啡。
Wǒ bù xíguàn hē wútáng kāfēi.
I'm not used to drinking coffee without sugar.
Character Family
Frequently Asked Questions
What does 咖 (kā) mean in Chinese?
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Is 咖 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
Practice writing 咖 with real-time feedback
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