咔

kǎ
卡 + 口

Definitions

kǎ (particle) used as onomatopoeia (ka)

Etymology

Phonosemantic compound. 口 represents the meaning and 卡 represents the sound.

Semantic: 口 Phonetic: 卡

About

咔 is a phono-semantic compound, with the mouth radical 口 on the left indicating a vocalization or environmental sound, and the phonetic component 卡 on the right supplying the pronunciation. It mimics sharp, abrupt, or mechanical noises, a crisp snap, a camera shutter click, or something suddenly breaking. In modern colloquial usage, it also acts as a phonetic loan for the English "cut", used by film directors to stop a scene. The character has no deep historical etymology and functions purely as a contemporary onomatopoeic tool.

Example Sentences Hide

门咔的一声关上了。

Mén kā de yī shēng guān shàng le.

The door closed with a click.

他听到了相机咔嚓的响声。

Tā tīng dào le xiàng jī kā chā de xiǎng shēng.

He heard the clicking sound of the camera.

树枝被踩得咔嚓咔嚓响。

Shù zhī bèi cǎi de kā chā kā chā xiǎng.

The twigs made a cracking sound underfoot.

她咔的一下按下了暂停键。

Tā kā de yī xià àn xià le zàn tíng jiàn.

She pressed the pause button with a click.

打印机咔嗒咔嗒地工作着。

Dǎ yìn jī kā dā kā dā de gōng zuò zhe.

The printer was working with a clacking sound.

古老的木地板走在上面会咔吱咔吱响。

Gǔ lǎo de mù dì bǎn zǒu zài shàng miàn huì kā zhī kā zhī xiǎng.

The old wooden floor creaks when you walk on it.

导演大喊一声“咔”，拍摄便停止了。

Dǎo yǎn dà hǎn yī shēng “kā”, pāi shè biàn tíng zhǐ le.

The director shouted "Cut!" and the filming stopped.

机械装置内部传出了规律的咔嗒声。

Jī xiè zhuāng zhì nèi bù chuán chū le guī lǜ de kā dā shēng.

A regular clicking sound came from inside the mechanical device.

Related Characters

Component: 卡

胩 佧 拤 鉲

Component: 口

中 和 可 后 如 同 只 知 高 问 向 或 加 合

Example Words

咔嚓 咔啦 咔叽