As an adverb, 可 can indicate the degree, or the speaking tone or mood.
As a degree adverb, 可 indicates a high degree, expressing a strong mood. It’s often used in spoken Chinese.
可 is often used before an adjective or a mental verb. There is always a particle “了” at the end.
Subject + 可 + Adjective + 了！
e.g.
这个女孩子可聪明了！(Zhège nǚ háizi kě cōngmíng le!) This girl is so smart!
她男朋友年纪可小了！(Tā nánpéngyou niánjì kě xiǎo le!) Her boyfriend is so young!
深圳的建筑都可高了！(Shēnzhèn de jiànzhù dōu kě gāo le!) The buildings in Shenzhen are so tall!
今天的汉语考试可难了！(Jīntiān de Hànyǔ kǎoshì kě nán le!) Today’s Chinese test was so difficult!
Note that “可+Adjective” can’t function as an attributive.
× 她买了套可贵的房子了！(Tā mǎi le tào kě guì de fángzi le!) She bought a really expensive house!
√ 她买的房子可贵了！(Tā mǎi de fángzi kě guì le!) The house she bought is so expensive!
√ 她买了套很/非常/相当/特别贵的房子！(Tā mǎi le tào hěn/fēicháng/xiāngdāng/tèbié guì de fángzi!) She bought a very/ extremely/ quite/ particularly expensive house!
× 他是个可幽默的人了！(Tā shì gè kě yōumò de rén le!) He is such a humorous person!
√ 他这个人可幽默了！(Tā zhège rén kě yōumò le!) He is such a humorous person!
√ 他是个很/非常/相当/特别幽默的人！(Tā shì gè hěn/fēicháng/xiāngdāng/tèbié yōumò de rén!) He is a very/ extremely/ quite/ particularly humorous person!
Subject + 可 + Mental Verb + Object + 了！
e.g.
我可喜欢玩游戏了！(Wǒ kě xǐhuān wán yóuxì le!) I love playing games so much!
我的猫可讨厌洗澡了！(Wǒ de māo kě tǎoyàn xǐzǎo le!) My cat hates taking baths so much!
员工们都可热爱自己的工作了！(Yuángōngmen dōu kě rè’ài zìjǐ de gōngzuò le!) The employees all love their jobs so much!
爸爸妈妈可担心孩子的健康了！(Bàba māma kě dānxīn háizi de jiànkāng le!) Mom and Dad are so worried about the child’s health!
Note that when using 可, there must be a new information from the speaker.
e.g.
A: 今天天气可热了！(Jīntiān tiānqì kě rè le!) Today’s weather is so hot!
B：真的吗？我还没出门，家里挺凉快的。(Zhēn de ma? Wǒ hái méi chūmén, jiālǐ tǐng liángkuai de.) Really? I haven’t gone out yet, it’s quite cool at home.
A：我这顿饭吃得可饱了！(Wǒ zhè dùn fàn chī de kě bǎo le!) I am so full from this meal!
B：是吗？太好了！我还担心你晚上会饿呢。(Shì ma? Tài hǎo le! Wǒ hái dānxīn nǐ wǎnshàng huì è ne.) Really? That’s great! I was worried you might be hungry later tonight.
A：新邻居可不喜欢宠物了！(Xīn línjū kě bù xǐhuān chǒngwù le!) The new neighbor really doesn’t like pets!
B：你怎么知道？(Nǐ zěnme zhīdào?) How do you know?
A：我刚才听他在抱怨小区的宠物太多了。(Wǒ gāngcái tīng tā zài bàoyuàn xiǎoqū de chǒngwù tài duō le.) I just heard him complaining that there are too many pets in the neighborhood.
As a tone adverb, 可 is used in a declarative sentence, indicating slight unexpectedness in an emphatic tone. It’s often used in spoken Chinese.
Subject + 可 + Verb phrase
e.g.
我可没说过这话。(Wǒ kě méi shuōguò zhè huà.) I never said that.
妈妈可不知道我们晚上出来喝酒。(Māma kě bù zhīdào wǒmen wǎnshàng chūlái hējiǔ.) Mom doesn’t know we came out to drink tonight.
我可了解她的性格，如果你骗她，她就再也不会相信你了。(Wǒ kě liǎojiě tā de xìnggé, rúguǒ nǐ piàn tā, tā jiù zài yě bù huì xiāngxìn nǐ le.) I really understand her personality. If you lie to her, she will never trust you again.
学校可不能只重视分数，孩子们的生理和心理健康也很重要。(Xuéxiào kě bùnéng zhǐ zhòngshì fēnshù, háizimen de shēnglǐ hé xīnlǐ jiànkāng yě hěn zhòngyào.) Schools cannot only focus on grades; the physical and mental health of children is also very important.
Subject + 可 + 不 + Adjective
e.g.
这道题可不简单。(Zhè dào tí kě bù jiǎndān.) This question is not simple at all.
这几个学生可不笨，就是不努力。(Zhè jǐ gè xuésheng kě bù bèn, jiùshì bù nǔlì.) These students are not stupid, just not hardworking.
你这个院子可不便宜，一看就是花了大价钱的。(Nǐ zhège yuànzi kě bù piányi, yī kàn jiù shì huā le dà jiàqián de.) Your yard is not cheap at all, it looks like it cost a lot of money.
Subject + Verb + 得 + 可 + 不 + Adjective
e.g.
我游得可不好，我的教练游泳才厉害呢！(Wǒ yóu de kě bù hǎo, wǒ de jiàoliàn yóuyǒng cái lìhài ne!) I swim really badly, but my coach is really good at swimming!
这次比赛你表现得可不理想，怎么了？(Zhè cì bǐsài nǐ biǎoxiàn de kě bù lǐxiǎng, zěnme le?) Your performance in this competition was really not ideal, what happened?
房子这么大，我打扫得可不干净，你还是请一位保洁阿姨吧。(Fángzi zhème dà, wǒ dǎsǎo de kě bù gānjìng, nǐ háishì qǐng yī wèi bǎojié āyí ba.) The house is so big, I really can’t clean it well. You should hire a cleaning lady.
As a conjunction, 可 connects clauses or sentences to indicate an adversative transition, meaning “but”. It’s usually use in spoken Chinese.
When clauses share the same subject:
Subject + Verb phrase 1 / Adjective phrase 1, 可 + Verb phrase 2 / Adjective phrase 2
e.g.
我汉语考过了六级，虽然家人没说什么，可实际上骄傲着呢！(Wǒ Hànyǔ kǎoguò le liù jí, suīrán jiārén méi shuō shénme, kě shíjì shàng jiāo’ào zhene!) I passed level six in Chinese, and although my family didn’t say anything, they are actually very proud!
她个子不高，可跑得很快。(Tā gèzi bù gāo, kě pǎo de hěn kuài.) She is not tall, but she runs very fast.
这道菜闻起来有点儿臭，可吃起来特别香！(Zhè dào cài wén qǐlai yǒu diǎnr chòu, kě chī qǐlai tèbié xiāng!) This dish smells a bit stinky, but it tastes really good!
这道数学题看起来简单，可做起来超级难。(Zhè dào shùxuétí kàn qǐlai jiǎndān, kě zuò qǐlai chāojí nán.) This math problem looks simple, but it’s super hard to solve.
Subject 1 + Verb phrase 1 / Adjective phrase 1, 可 + Subject 2 + Verb phrase 2 / Adjective phrase 2
e.g.
妈妈喜欢我的男朋友，可爸爸好像并不喜欢他。(Māma xǐhuān wǒ de nánpéngyou, kě bàba hǎoxiàng bìng bù xǐhuān tā.) Mom likes my boyfriend, but Dad doesn’t seem to like him.
这本书虽然不太有名，可价格不便宜。(Zhè běn shū suīrán bù tài yǒumíng, kě jiàgé bù piányi.) Although this book is not very famous, it’s not cheap.
虽然秋天还没到，可天气已经有点儿凉了。(Suīrán qiūtiān hái méi dào, kě tiānqì yǐjīng yǒu diǎnr liáng le.) Although it’s not autumn yet, the weather is already a bit cool.
这里的房价不便宜，可买的人多着呢！(Zhèlǐ de fángjià bù piányi, kě mǎi de rén duō zhene!) The housing prices here are not cheap, but many people are buying!
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