How to Write 咖 (gā/kā) — Meaning “coffee; curry”

Imagine you take a sip of hot coffee and say 'Ga!' because it's too hot — the left 口 (mouth) shows you are drinking, and the right 加 sounds like 'ga'. Another trick: think of adding (加) something to your mouth (口) like curry or coffee.

The left 口 should be small and placed in the upper left area, while the right part 加 is wider and taller. A common mistake is making the 口 too large or writing the 力 (power) component with a hook that is too long. Follow stroke order: write 口 first, then the left stroke of 加, then 力, finishing with a curved hook.

The three characters all use the mouth radical 口 on the left but have different right parts: 咖 has 加, 吁 has 于, and 吂 has 亡. Visually, 咖's right side is more complex with three strokes, while 吁 and 吂 are simpler. In meaning, 咖 is only used for coffee and curry, 吁 means to sigh, and 吂 is very rare in modern Chinese.

咖 is almost never used alone; it appears only in the compound words 咖啡 (kā fēi, coffee) and 咖喱 (gā lí, curry). These are direct phonetic translations from English and other languages. Culturally, coffee shops have become very popular in Chinese cities, and curry dishes are common in restaurants, so you will see 咖 frequently on menus and signs.

Common words containing 咖 include: 咖啡 (kā fēi) — coffee; 咖喱 (gā lí) — curry.