▎可, kĕ, (Adv), but on the other hand, stating a mild warning

 

Function 可, an adverb, has two functions.

(1) It expresses the speaker’s refutation of what people in general expect or assume.

1 你可是男生，怎麼膽子比我還小！

Nǐ kě shì nánshēng, zěnme dǎnzi bǐ wǒ hái xiǎo!

But you’re a guy, where are your guts?

2 我可跟她們不一樣。我覺得恐怖片一點也不可怕。

Wǒ kě gēn tāmen bù yíyàng. Wǒ juéde kǒngbùpiàn yìdiǎn yě bù kěpà.

I’m not at all like those girls. I don’t think horror movies are the least bit frightening.

3 那位畫家得獎以後，他的畫可貴了。我們怎麼買得起！

Nà wèi huàjiā dé jiǎng yǐhòu, tā de huà kě guì le. Wǒmen zěnme mǎideqǐ!

After that artist won an award, his paintings just got so expensive. How could we ever afford one!

4 台灣的大學生可很少人化了妝去上課的。

Táiwān de dàxuéshēng kě hěn shǎo rén huàle zhuāng qù shàngkè de.

In Taiwan, there are only very few university students who wear make-up to class.

(2) The speaker gives a suggestion, a mild warning or a reminder.

1 最近食品安全出了不少問題。買東西可要小心啊！

Zuìjìn shípǐn ānquán chūle bù shǎo wèntí. Mǎi dōngxi kě yào xiǎoxīn a!

There have been quite a few food safety issues of late. Beware what you buy!

2 開慢一點。你可別因為要趕時間而出車禍。

Kāi màn yidiǎn. Nǐ kě bié yīnwèi yào gǎn shíjiān ér chū chēhuò.

Drive slower. It’s not worth spending the expense of an accident.

3 噓，小聲一點。這件事很重要，你可不能告訴別人。

Xū, xiǎo shēng yìdiǎn. Zhè jiàn shì hěn zhòngyào, nǐ kě bù néng gàosù biérén.

Hey, not so loud. This is very important, and you can’t let anyone else know.

4 你可要表現得好一點。可別再出問題了。

Nǐ kě yào biǎoxiàn de hǎo yìdiǎn. Kě bié zài chū wèntí le.

You’ve got to do a better job. Don’t let it happen again.

 

Usage 可 is often used in imperative sentences and is followed by words like 要, 得, 不能, and 別, as illustrated above. On mainland China, 可 can also function as a conj, related to 可是. This is not observed in Taiwan.