Chinese word dictionary

可惜

kěxī · it is a pity; what a pity; unfortunately

Practice word

Word information

Simplified可惜

Traditional可惜

Pinyinkěxī

Part of speech形

HSK 3.04

HSK 2.04

Character breakdown

Study each Hanzi separately, then return to the complete word so pronunciation, meaning, and movement stay connected.

可kě

may, can, -able; possibly

惜xī

pity, regret; to rue; to begrudge

How to learn 可惜

Listen once without reading, repeat the pinyin with its tones, then write every character in sequence. Finally, recall the complete meaning instead of memorizing each character as an isolated translation.

When the word appears in a sentence, check whether its part of speech and meaning match the definition shown here. Chinese words can change nuance with context.

Related vocabulary

Words with the same characters

Compare how a familiar Hanzi changes meaning inside another word.

可以kěyǐ

can; may; possible; able to; not bad; pretty good

可能kěnéng

might (happen); possible; probable; possibility; probability; maybe; perhaps; CL:個|个[ge4]

可kě

(prefix) can; may; able to; -able; to approve; to permit; to suit; (particle used for emphasis) certainly; very; but; however

可爱kě’ài

adorable; cute; lovely

可是kěshì

but; however; (used for emphasis) indeed

可见kějiàn

it can clearly be seen (that this is the case); it is (thus) clear; clear; visible