棵 (kē): classifier for trees, cabbages, plants etc

棵 (kē) is a Chinese character meaning “classifier for trees, cabbages, plants etc.” Classified as HSK Level 4 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of 木 (semantic) and 果 (phonetic). It ranks #2071 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).

Etymologically derived, 棵 tree. Its radical form 木 (tree) appears in many related characters such as 本 (běn, (bound form) root), 机 (jī, machine, opportunity), 条 (tiáo, strip).

Spoken pronunciation

Definitions

  1. classifier for trees, cabbages, plants etc

Etymology & Origin

棵

pictophonetictree

Decomposition: ⿰木果 (layout: left-right)

Stroke Order

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12

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

Words & Compounds

Common Compounds

WordPinyinMeaning
不要在一棵树上吊死bù yào zài yī kē shù shàng diào sǐdon't insist on only taking one road to Rome (idiom)
发棵fā kēbudding
塌棵菜nountā kē càiBrassica narinosa (broadbeaked mustard)
3
Total compounds
0
As first character
33
As last character
67
As middle character

棵 appears in 3 compound words: 0 as the first character, 33 as the last, and 67 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 棵 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.

爷yé
0.67122 co-occurrences
树shù
0.6473,458 co-occurrences
橡xiàng
0.431132 co-occurrences
砍kǎn
0.40892 co-occurrences
椰yē
0.40142 co-occurrences
槐huái
0.39344 co-occurrences
苗miáo
0.389100 co-occurrences
松sōng
0.386696 co-occurrences
植zhí
0.379374 co-occurrences
门mén
0.37124 co-occurrences

Example Sentences

AI-Generated

春天来了,院子里的棵木开始发芽抽枝。

chūn tiān lái le , yuàn zǐ lǐ de kē mù kāi shǐ fā yá chōu zhī .

Spring has arrived, and the trees in the yard are beginning to sprout buds and unfurl their branches.

奇客SolidotAug 2026

数百万棵垂柳和白杨树将北京装缀成一个绿色的大都市。

shǔ bǎi wàn kē chuí liǔ hé bái yáng shù jiāng běi jīng zhuāng zhuì chéng yī gè lǜ sè de dà dōu shì .

Millions of weeping willows and poplars adorn Beijing, transforming it into a lush metropolis.

中国新闻网·文化Aug 2026

拾级而上,天师洞前,游客纷纷驻足,聚在一棵树前拍照打卡。

shè jí ér shàng , tiān shī dòng qián , yóu kè fēn fēn zhù zú , jù zài yī kē shù qián pāi zhào dǎ kǎ .

As they climbed the steps toward Tianshi Cave, tourists stopped in droves and gathered in front of a tree to take photos and check in.

中国新闻网·文化Jul 2026

如片中“印证未来者身份”的关键桥段,事关某建筑门口是否有棵歪脖树。

rú piàn zhōng yìn zhèng wèi lái zhě shēn fèn de guān jiàn qiáo duàn , shì guān mǒu jiàn zhù mén kǒu shì fǒu yǒu kē wāi bó shù .

For example, the key scene in the film that “confirms the identity of the time traveler” hinges on whether there is a crooked tree in front of a certain building.

SmzdmMar 2026

...彦斌2026巡演北京站定档6月27日,五棵松体育馆开唱

. . . 彦 斌 2 0 2 6 xún yǎn běi jīng zhàn dìng dàng 6 yuè 2 7 rì , wǔ kē sōng tǐ yù guǎn kāi chàng

...Yan Bin's 2026 Tour Beijing Stop is scheduled for June 27 at the Wukesong Arena

The Portugal NewsMar 2026

葡萄牙环保协会提供 170 万棵树

pú táo yá huán bǎo xié huì tí gōng 1 7 0 wàn kē shù

The Portuguese Environmental Association is providing 1.7 million trees

Tatoeba

汤姆在后院砍伐了一棵树。

Tāngmǔ zàihòu yuàn kǎnfá le yī kē shù.

Tom cut down a tree in his yard.

Tatoeba

你曾经用德语和那棵小桃树打过招呼吗?

Nǐ céngjīng yòng Déyǔ hé nà kē xiǎo táoshù dǎ guòzhāo hū ma?

Have you ever greeted the small peach tree in German?

Tatoeba

他在花园里砍了一棵树。

Tā zài huāyuán lǐ kǎn le yī kē shù.

He cut down a tree in his garden.

Tatoeba

这棵大树遭到雷击。

Zhè kē Dàshù zāodào léijī.

The big tree was struck by lightning.

Character Family

Semantic Family — Characters sharing the 木 (tree) component

Homophones — Characters pronounced kē

Frequently Asked Questions

What does 棵 (kē) mean in Chinese?
棵 (kē) primarily means "classifier for trees, cabbages, plants etc." It is classified as HSK Level 4, making it an upper-intermediate character. It ranks #2071 in character frequency.
What's the difference between 棵 and 踝?
棵 (kē) and 踝 (huái) are often confused. confusable. The key distinguishing feature: 木 vs 足 (same 果 component).
How many strokes does 棵 have?
棵 is written with 12 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 棵?
The radical associated with 棵 is 木 (tree). This radical appears in many characters related to tree.
What are the components of 棵?
棵 is composed of: 木 (semantic), 果 (phonetic). Its IDS decomposition is ⿰木果 with a left-right layout. Understanding the components helps with both memorization and recognizing related characters.
What are common words containing 棵?
Common words with 棵 include: 不要在一棵树上吊死 (bù yào zài yī kē shù shàng diào sǐ, "don't insist on only taking one road to Rome (idiom)"); 发棵 (fā kē, "budding"); 塌棵菜 (tā kē cài, "Brassica narinosa (broadbeaked mustard)"). There are over 3 compound words containing this character.
What characters sound the same as 棵 (kē)?
Several characters share the pronunciation kē: 课 (lesson, class), 可 (can, may), 克 (to be able to), 科 (branch of study), and 3 more. Context and tones help distinguish between them in speech and writing.
Is 棵 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
Yes, 棵 is written the same way in both simplified and traditional Chinese.

Practice writing 棵 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.