Origin and Meaning
靠谱(kàopǔ) originated from a northern dialect in China, and became quite popular in recent years. The meaning is reliable and to be trusted. When you pronounce it, it's best to add a retroflex sound 儿(ér) at the end of 谱(pǔ), just like 靠谱儿(kàopǔr). If you say that somebody who deals with something is 靠谱儿(kàopǔr), that means you can rely on him and he will handle it well. If you say that something is 靠谱儿(kàopǔr), that means it is feasible and reasonable. The opposite is 不靠谱儿(bú kàopǔr) which means that something is digressing from the subject, straying from the point or is unpractical. 靠(kào) means to rely on 谱(pǔ) means a chart or music score literally, but here it refers to feasibility and rationality.
Usage of the Phrase
你这人真不靠谱儿！ Nǐ zhè rén zhēn bú kàopǔr!
You're so unreliable!
这件事一点都不靠谱儿，估计不好办。 zhè jiàn shì yì diǎn dōu bú kàopǔr, gūjì bù hǎo bàn.
This isn't feasible at all. I'm afraid that it won't be finished easily.
