柯 (kē): surname Ke, (literary) branch, stem, stalk

柯 (kē) is a Chinese character meaning “(literary) branch.” Outside the HSK 3.0 syllabus (CLEC 2022), it is composed of 木 (semantic) and 可 (phonetic). It ranks #1593 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).

Etymologically derived, 柯 wood. Its radical form 木 (tree) appears in many related characters such as 木 (mù, wood/tree), 林 (lín, forest, woods), 森 (sēn, forest (dense)).

Spoken pronunciation

Radical: 木 tree9 strokesFrequency #1593木 semantic 可 phonetic

Definitions

surname Ke
(literary) branch
stem
stalk

Etymology & Origin

柯

pictophoneticwood

Decomposition: ⿰木可 (layout: left-right)

Components:木semantic 可phonetic

Stroke Order

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

Words & Compounds

Common Compounds

Word	Pinyin	Meaning
柯达	kē dá	Kodak (brand, US film company)
柯林斯	kē lín sī	Collins (name)
柯林	kē lín	Colin (name)
古柯noun	gǔ kē	(botany) coca (source of cocaine)
柯那克里	kē nà kè lǐ	Conakry, capital of Guinea (Tw)
柯南·道尔	kē nán · dào ěr	Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (1859-1930), author of the Sherlock Holmes stories 歇洛克·福爾摩斯\|歇洛克·福尔摩斯
柯里化	kē lǐ huà	(computing) currying
伊士曼柯达公司	yī shì màn kē dá gōng sī	Eastman Kodak Company (US film company)
斯柯达	sī kē dá	Škoda, Czech Republic car manufacturer, a subsidiary of Volkswagen Group
南柯一梦phrase	nán kē yī mèng	lit. a dream of Nanke
柯城区	kē chéng qū	Kecheng, a district of Quzhou City 衢州市, Zhejiang
柯西proper-noun	kē xī	Augustin-Louis Cauchy (1789-1857), French mathematician
柯沙奇病毒	kē shā qí bìng dú	Coxsackievirus
柯萨奇病毒noun	kē sà qí bìng dú	Coxsachie A intestinal virus
柯基noun	kē jī	(loanword) corgi

Total compounds

As first character

As last character

As middle character

柯 appears in 39 compound words: 72 as the first character, 13 as the last, and 15 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 柯 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.

哲zhé

0.76098 co-occurrences

僚liáo

0.64216 co-occurrences

铭míng

0.56117 co-occurrences

卸xiè

0.49614 co-occurrences

屈qū

0.45710 co-occurrences

文wén

0.441103 co-occurrences

召zhào

0.41812 co-occurrences

凯kǎi

0.39614 co-occurrences

敬jìng

0.38710 co-occurrences

瑞ruì

0.37520 co-occurrences

Idioms & Chengyu (4)

操斧伐柯cāo fǔ fá kē

(cf Book of Songs) How to fashion an ax handle? You need an ax; fig. to follow a principle; fig. to act as matchmaker

phrase

柯尔克孜kē'ěrkèzī

Kyrgyz (referring to the Kyrgyz people in China)

adjective

柯尼斯堡Kēnísībǎo

Königsberg (The former capital of East Prussia, now Kaliningrad)

南柯一梦nánkēyīmèng

delusion of grandeur; fleeting glory

phrase

Example Sentences

AI-Generated

爷爷在门前种了一棵柯苗，现在已经长得很高了。

yé yé zài mén qián zhǒng le yī kē Kē miáo , xiàn zài yǐ jīng cháng dé hěn gāo le .

Grandpa planted a young sycamore tree in front of the house, and it has grown quite tall now.

UdnnewsindexFeb 2026

赖总统:感谢柯建铭25年来始终站在第一线完成交棒传承...

lài zǒng tǒng : gǎn xiè Kē jiàn míng 2 5 nián lái shǐ zhōng zhàn zài dì yī xiàn wán chéng jiāo bàng chuán chéng . . .

President Lai: I thank Ko Chien-ming for standing on the front lines for 25 years and successfully passing the torch...

Nownews今日新聞Feb 2026

柯建铭卸任总召!赖清德致上最高敬意:为民主...

Kē jiàn míng xiè rèn zǒng zhào ! lài qīng dé zhì shàng zuì gāo jìng yì : wéi mín zhǔ . . .

Ko Chien-ming Steps Down as Whip! Lai Ching-te Pays Highest Tribute: For Democracy...

Nownews今日新聞Feb 2026

柯建铭万年总召卸任 10年幕僚全说了:跟助...

Kē jiàn míng wàn nián zǒng zhào xiè rèn 1 0 nián mù liáo quán shuō le : gēn zhù . . .

Ke Chien-ming Steps Down as Longtime Caucus Leader; Staff Member Who Worked with Him for 10 Years Speaks Out: "Working with..."

EttodayFeb 2026

柯瑞监制、配音发威!《山羊巅峰》逆袭狂卖3...

Kē ruì jiān zhì , pèi yīn fā wēi ! shān yáng diān fēng nì xí kuáng mài 3 . . .

Curry shines as producer and voice actor! *Goat Peak* stages a comeback, raking in 3...

Am730Feb 2026

注入运动机能的都市休闲服 9m88柯炜林演绎科技布料的日常穿搭

zhù rù yùn dòng jī néng de dōu shì xiū xián fú 9 m 8 8 Kē 炜 lín yǎn yì kē jì bù liào de rì cháng chuān dā

Urban Casual Wear Infused with Athletic Functionality: 9m88’s Ke Wei-lin Showcases Everyday Outfits Featuring Technical Fabrics

Character Family

Frequently Asked Questions

What does 柯 (kē) mean in Chinese?

柯 (kē) primarily means "(literary) branch." It is not part of the HSK 3.0 syllabus. It ranks #1593 in character frequency.

What's the difference between 柯 and 阿?

柯 (kē) and 阿 (ā) are often confused. confusable. The key distinguishing feature: 木 vs 阝 (same 可 component).

How many strokes does 柯 have?

柯 is written with 9 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 柯?

The radical associated with 柯 is 木 (tree). This radical appears in many characters related to tree.

What are the components of 柯?

柯 is composed of: 木 (semantic), 可 (phonetic). Its IDS decomposition is ⿰木可 with a left-right layout. Understanding the components helps with both memorization and recognizing related characters.

What are common words containing 柯?

Common words with 柯 include: 柯达 (kē dá, "Kodak (brand, US film company)"); 柯林斯 (kē lín sī, "Collins (name)"); 柯林 (kē lín, "Colin (name)"); 古柯 (gǔ kē, "(botany) coca (source of cocaine)"); 柯那克里 (kē nà kè lǐ, "Conakry, capital of Guinea (Tw)"). There are over 39 compound words containing this character.

What characters sound the same as 柯 (kē)?

Several characters share the pronunciation kē: 苛 (severe), 坷 (used in 坷垃), 咳 (cough). Context and tones help distinguish between them in speech and writing.

Is 柯 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?

Yes, 柯 is written the same way in both simplified and traditional Chinese.

Practice writing 柯 with real-time feedback

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

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