Chinese word

靠谱

Pronunciation

Pinyinkào pǔ

Meaning

  • adjectivetrustworthy

Example

这件事听起来很靠谱。zhè jiàn shì tīng qǐ lái hěn kào pǔ

This sounds trustworthy.

Illustration for 靠谱 (trustworthy)

More examples

他工作很靠谱，从不迟到。tā gōng zuò hěn kào pǔ cóng bù chí dào

He is very reliable at work and never arrives late.

Core concept

A person, plan, or judgment stands on a sound basis and can safely be counted on.

Common phrases

  • 很靠谱hěn kào pǔ

    very dependable

  • 挺靠谱tǐng kào pǔ

    pretty dependable

  • 看起来靠谱kàn qǐ lái kào pǔ

    seems dependable

Similar words

可靠kě kào: Describes a person or thing that consistently does what can be expected.
可信赖kě xìn lài: Describes someone or something worthy of trust and suitable to depend on.
信得过xìn de guò: Describes someone trusted enough to be given responsibility for an important matter.

Definition in Chinese

形容某人或某事可靠可信，做事有把握，不容易出差错，常见于口语表达。xíng róng mǒu rén huò mǒu shì kě kào kě xìn zuò shì yóu bǎ wò bù róng yì chū chā cuò cháng jiàn yú kóu yǔ biǎo dá

Word origin

The compound 靠 (kào, "rely on") + 谱 (pǔ, "plan or standard") presents something as having a sound basis that can be relied on, which explains its modern colloquial sense.

Usage tips

  • This common spoken adjective can rate people, plans, and ideas, while modifiers such as 挺 (tǐng, "quite") and 还 (hái, "fairly") show the degree of approval.

Other meanings

  • dependableadjective
  • decentadjective
  • solidadjective

Opposites

  • 不靠谱bú kào pǔnot reliableadjective
  • 靠不住kào bú zhùuntrustworthyadjective

Word lists with this word