可 歌 可 泣

kě gē kě qìdictionary entry

lit. you can sing or you can cry (idiom) / fig. deeply moving / happy and sad / inspiring and tragic

Sources & editorial notes

Reference definitions: CC-CEDICT contributors and MDBG, CC BY-SA 4.0. Source release 2026-10-27T01:55:52Z. Imported 2026-10-27. Definition wording and meaning order are retained. Recognized pronunciation references are displayed with tone marks; the original source record is available below.

Source record: cd-f1ed74fbcda87907. Source SHA-256: bbc4b27f26bee1a262f4d7939667a040c7857c7fc0200a2fa7a86d3352a09eae.

Original source entry:

可歌可泣 可歌可泣 [ke3 ge1 ke3 qi4] /lit. you can sing or you can cry (idiom); fig. deeply moving/happy and sad/inspiring and tragic/

Reference definitions and teaching material have separate provenance.

Reference information

The definitions above are from CC-CEDICT. Examples and usage notes are available on selected entries.

Character information

View the individual characters. Their meanings do not necessarily explain the meaning of the whole word.

可
kě
(prefix) can / may / able to / -able / to approve / to permit / to suit / (particle used for emphasis) certainly / very / but / however
kè
used in 可汗[kè hán]
歌
gē
song (CL:首[shǒu],支[zhī]) / (bound form) to sing
可
kě
(prefix) can / may / able to / -able / to approve / to permit / to suit / (particle used for emphasis) certainly / very / but / however
kè
used in 可汗[kè hán]
泣
qì
to sob

Reference definitions from CC-CEDICT.