巧克力

• Pinyin: qiǎo kè lì
• Hanzi breakdown: 巧 + 克 + 力 — purely phonetic transliteration characters; individually they mean 'skilful', 'overcome', and 'strength', but here carry no semantic value

Meaning

Chocolate. A sweet food made from roasted cacao beans, popular worldwide as a snack, dessert ingredient, and gift.

A phonetic transliteration of 'chocolate'. Used for all forms: 巧克力蛋糕 (chocolate cake), 黑巧克力 (dark chocolate), 白巧克力 (white chocolate), 巧克力糖 (chocolate candy). Chocolate is a popular gift in China, especially on Valentine's Day and other romantic occasions. Common in everyday shopping and food contexts.

Examples

1. 她最喜欢吃巧克力，尤其是黑巧克力。 Her favourite thing to eat is chocolate, especially dark chocolate.
2. 情人节那天他送了女朋友一盒巧克力。 On Valentine's Day, he gave his girlfriend a box of chocolates.
3. 这个巧克力蛋糕味道非常好。 This chocolate cake tastes wonderful.

Usage Guide

Context: food, gifts, everyday

Tone: casual

Do Say

• 你要来一块巧克力吗？(Would you like a piece of chocolate?)
• 我给你带了一盒巧克力。(I brought you a box of chocolates.)

Don't Say

• 巧克力味的巧克力 as a redundant description (This is redundant — just say 巧克力; if specifying type, say 黑巧克力, 牛奶巧克力, etc.)

Origin & History

A phonetic transliteration from English 'chocolate' (via other European languages), rendered with characters chosen for sound: 巧 (qiǎo) + 克 (kè) + 力 (lì).

Cultural Context

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal