咖kā

咖

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Simplified · Today

简体

Simplified Chinese

Modern simplified form (簡體). 咖 (kā) exists only in simplified Chinese, created in the twentieth century as a phonetic component for transliterating foreign words like coffee. The character combines the mouth radical 口 with the phonetic element 加, chosen for its approximate sound — a character born not from ancient pictography but from the practical need to write borrowed words in Chinese.

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Shuowen

咖 (kā). The character 咖 is a modern creation using the mouth radical (口) and the phonetic component 可 (kě) to transcribe the "ka" sound in foreign words such as coffee; it did not exist in oracle bone times.

Pinyin

kā· HSK 1

咖kā

Character evolution

Shuowen

Pinyin