憨态可掬
hān tài kě jū
endearingly clumsy and innocent; charmingly naive
Character by character
憨hān
simple
simple
态tài
manner
manner
可kě
can
can
掬jū
scoop up
scoop up
Example
刚满一岁的熊猫宝宝在草地上滚来滚去，憨态可掬，游客们都舍不得走。
The year-old panda cub rolled about on the grass, adorably clumsy, and the visitors could not tear themselves away.
Tone: positive (praise).
Usage and origin
掬 is to scoop up with both hands: the charm is so plain you could hold it. Used of chubby animals, toddlers and dolls, and of a person’s guileless, comic look; in writing about pandas it is almost obligatory.
Learn this in Lesson 24 · HSK 5: 大熊猫：从濒危到易危 (How the giant panda was saved)
A dialogue, a reading, word cards with audio and a drill that uses it, in Learn Chinese with Bao. The first lessons of every level are free.
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