康 (kāng): healthy

康 (kāng) is a Chinese character meaning “healthy.” Classified as HSK Level 3 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of 广 (structural) and 隶 (structural). It ranks #900 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).

Etymologically derived, 康 a home 广 with a servant 隶. Its radical form 广 (shelter) appears in many related characters such as 床 (chuáng, bed), 店 (diàn, shop), 广 (guǎng, wide, broad).

Spoken pronunciation

Definitions

  1. healthy

Etymology & Origin

康

ideographicA home 广 with a servant 隶

Decomposition: ⿸广隶 (layout: surround-from-upper-left)

Stroke Order

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11

Practice writing 康 with real-time feedback — trace each stroke in the correct order and build muscle memory in the HanziFeed app.

Words & Compounds

HSK Vocabulary with 康

WordPinyinMeaningHSK
健康adjectivejiàn kānghealth3
康复verbkāng fùto recuperate6

Common Compounds

WordPinyinMeaning
康奈尔kāng nài ěrCornell (University)
康涅狄格proper-nounkāng niè dí géConnecticut, US state
康乃馨nounkāng nǎi xīncarnation (Dianthus caryophyllus) (loanword)
奥康纳proper-nounào kāng nàO'Connor (name)
威斯康星proper-nounwēi sī kāng xīngWisconsin, US state
安康adjectiveān kānggood health
康保proper-nounkāng bǎosee 康保縣|康保县
康巴proper-nounkāng bāKhampa, subdivision of Tibetan ethnic group
威斯康辛proper-nounwēi sī kāng xīnWisconsin
康佳kāng jiāKongka (brand)
小康nounxiǎo kāngmoderately affluent
康庄大道phrasekāng zhuāng dà dàobroad and open road (idiom)
康科德proper-nounkāng kē déConcord (place name)
康定kāng dìngsee 康定市
康乐adjectivekāng lèpeace and happiness (old)
100
Total compounds
45
As first character
29
As last character
26
As middle character

康 appears in 100 compound words: 45 as the first character, 29 as the last, and 26 in a middle position. Compound statistics computed from SUBTLEX-CH and HSK 3.0 vocabulary data.

Strongest Collocations

Characters that most frequently co-occur with 康 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.

健jiàn
0.78699,449 co-occurrences
熙xī
0.61557,319 co-occurrences
嘱zhǔ
0.48722 co-occurrences
胰yí
0.45110 co-occurrences
永yǒng
0.44312,144 co-occurrences
秋qiū
0.4276,946 co-occurrences
坦tǎn
0.4207,466 co-occurrences
十shí
0.40229,378 co-occurrences
复fù
0.3816,336 co-occurrences
奈nài
0.3653,360 co-occurrences

Idioms & Chengyu (15)

阿斯利康ĀsīlìkāngHSK 7+

AstraZeneca (the COVID-19 vaccine made by the AstraZeneca company)

川端康成chuān duān kāng chéngHSK 7+

Kawabata Yasunari, Japanese literature Nobel laureate

phrase
健康保险jiànkāng bǎoxiǎnHSK 4+

health insurance

noun
健康检查jiàn kāng jiǎn cháHSK 3+

see 體格檢查|体格检查

phrase
健康食品jiànkāng shípǐnHSK 4+

health food

noun
康干盛世Kāng-Qián shèngshìHSK 6+

High Qing era (the era when the Kangxi, Yongzheng, and Qianlong Emperors reigned)

康乃狄克Kāngnǎidíkè

(Taiwan) Connecticut (a state of the United States)

康涅狄格Kāngnièdígé

(Mainland China, Hong Kong) Connecticut (a state of the United States)

康斯坦察KāngsītǎncháHSK 7+

Constanța (a city in Romania)

康庄大道kāngzhuāngdàdàoHSK 6+

bright future

phrase
威斯康辛WēisīkāngxīnHSK 7+

(Hong Kong, Taiwan) Wisconsin (a state in the Upper Midwest region of the United States)

威斯康星WēisīkāngxīngHSK 7+

(Mainland China) Wisconsin (a state in the Upper Midwest region of the United States)

Showing 12 of 15 idioms containing 康.

Example Sentences

AI-Generated

健康是最重要的财富,我们要注意保养身体。

Jiànkāng shì zuì zhòngyào de cáifù, wǒmen yào zhùyì bǎoyǎng shēntǐ.

Health is the most important wealth; we must take care of our bodies.

StheadlineFeb 2026

大便3大變化自測健康 這2種顏色恐患胰臟癌/大腸癌 伴隨3情...

dà biàn dà 變 huà zì 測 jiàn kāng 這 種 顏 sè kǒng huàn 胰 臟 ái dà 腸 ái bàn 隨 qíng . . .

Three Major Stool Changes to Self-Assess Your Health These Two Colors May Indicate Pancreatic Cancer/Colon Cancer Accompanied by Three Symptoms...

BastillepostFeb 2026

KATSEYE成員Manon健康亮紅燈 官方證實暫停活動

chéng 員 jiàn kāng liàng 紅 燈 guān fāng 證 實 暫 tíng huó 動

KATSEYE member Manon's health raises red flags; official confirms temporary hiatus

StheadlineFeb 2026

Manon@KATSEYE彈出彈入否認健康亮紅燈 官方昨稱退團專心養病

彈 chū 彈 rù fǒu 認 jiàn kāng liàng 紅 燈 guān fāng zuó 稱 tuì 團 專 xīn 養 bìng

Manon@KATSEYE Denies Health Concerns Amid Exit Rumors; Agency Confirms Departure for Medical Treatment

EttodayFeb 2026

星星之火足以燎原!永康營業場所角落起火 亂丟菸蒂惹禍

xīng xīng zhī huǒ zú yǐ 燎 yuán ! yǒng kāng 營 業 場 suǒ jiǎo luò qǐ huǒ 亂 丟 菸 dì rě 禍

A single spark can start a prairie fire! Fire in the corner of Yongkang's business premises caused by littering cigarettes.

三立新聞網Feb 2026

睡覺太亮恐影響健康?醫點名3類人風險高

shuì 覺 tài liàng kǒng yǐng 響 jiàn kāng ? 醫 點 míng 類 rén 風 險 gāo

Sleeping too brightly may affect your health? Doctors name 3 types of people at high risk

Tatoeba

那么,这代表更健康的城市吗?

Nàme, zhè dàibiǎo gèng jiànkāng de chéngshì ma?

So, will this mean healthier cities?

Tatoeba

这些东西对健康有害吗?

Zhèxiē dōngxi duì jiànkāng yǒuhài ma?

Will this stuff jeopardize my health?

Tatoeba

每天吃无花果健康吗?

Měitiān chī wúhuāguǒ jiànkāng ma?

Is it OK to eat figs every day?

Tatoeba

健康与运动及节制密不可分。

Jiànkāng yǔ yùndòng jí jiézhì mìbùkěfēn.

Good health is inseparable from exercise and moderation.

Character Family

Homophones — Characters pronounced kāng

Frequently Asked Questions

What does 康 (kāng) mean in Chinese?
康 (kāng) primarily means "healthy." It is classified as HSK Level 3, making it a beginner-level character. It ranks #900 in character frequency.
How many strokes does 康 have?
康 is written with 11 strokes. The correct stroke order matters for recognition and handwriting speed — practice with the animated guide above to build proper technique.
What is the radical of 康?
The radical associated with 康 is 广 (shelter). This radical appears in many characters related to shelter.
What are the components of 康?
康 is composed of: 广 (structural), 隶 (structural). Its IDS decomposition is ⿸广隶 with a surround-from-upper-left layout. Understanding the components helps with both memorization and recognizing related characters.
What are common words containing 康?
Common words with 康 include: 健康 (jiàn kāng, "health"); 康复 (kāng fù, "to recuperate"); 康奈尔 (kāng nài ěr, "Cornell (University)"); 康涅狄格 (kāng niè dí gé, "Connecticut, US state"); 康乃馨 (kāng nǎi xīn, "carnation (Dianthus caryophyllus) (loanword)"). There are over 100 compound words containing this character.
What characters sound the same as 康 (kāng)?
Several characters share the pronunciation kāng: 抗 (to resist), 慷 (used in 慷慨). Context and tones help distinguish between them in speech and writing.
Is 康 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
Yes, 康 is written the same way in both simplified and traditional Chinese.

Practice writing 康 with real-time feedback

Trace stroke sequences, hear spoken pronunciation, and build lasting retention with spaced repetition in the HanziFeed app.

Character data sourced from Unihan (Unicode Consortium), SUBTLEX-CH frequency corpus (Cai & Brysbaert, 2010), and Make Me a Hanzi (stroke data). Collocation strength measured via NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information). Verified by the HanziFeed linguistics team.

HSK classification follows the HSK 3.0 Standard (Center for Language Education and Cooperation, CLEC, 2022 revision). Idiom data from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).

Data last verified: March 2026.