课 (kè): lesson, class
课 (kè) is a Chinese character meaning “lesson, class.” Classified as HSK Level 1 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of 讠 (semantic) and 果 (phonetic). It ranks #1203 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).
Etymologically derived, 课 speech. Its radical form 讠 (speech) appears in many related characters such as 认 (rèn, to recognize, to admit), 记 (jì, to remember, to record), 识 (shí, to know, knowledge).
Definitions
- lesson, class
Etymology & Origin
Stroke Order
Practice writing 课 with real-time feedback — trace each stroke in the correct order and build muscle memory in the HanziFeed app.
Words & Compounds
HSK Vocabulary with 课
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | HSK |
|---|---|---|---|
| 上课verb | shàng kè | to go to class | 1 |
| 课程noun | kè chéng | course | 4 |
| 功课noun | gōng kè | homework | 4 |
| 课堂noun | kè táng | classroom | 4 |
| 下课verb | xià kè | to finish class | 1 |
| 课题noun | kè tí | task | 6 |
| 课本noun | kè běn | textbook | 3 |
| 补课verb | bǔ kè | to make up missed lesson | 6 |
| 课文noun | kè wén | text | 3 |
Common Compounds
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 代课verb | dài kè | to teach as substitute for absent teacher |
| 逃课verb | táo kè | to skip class |
| 课外noun | kè wài | extracurricular |
| 讲课verb | jiǎng kè | to give a lecture |
| 教课verb | jiāo kè | to teach class |
| 课间noun | kè jiān | interval between lessons |
| 旷课verb | kuàng kè | to play truant |
| 课程表noun | kè chéng biǎo | class timetable |
| 听课verb | tīng kè | to attend a class |
| 授课verb | shòu kè | to teach |
| 停课verb | tíng kè | to stop classes |
| 课余adjective | kè yú | after school |
| 课时noun | kè shí | class |
| 课长noun | kè zhǎng | section chief (of an administrative unit) |
| 开课verb | kāi kè | school begins |
课 appears in 63 compound words: 32 as the first character, 63 as the last, and 5 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 课 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.
Idioms & Chengyu (1)
Example Sentences
这节课的内容很重要，请大家认真听讲并做好笔记。
Zhè jié kè de nèiróng hěn zhòngyào, qǐng dàjiā rènzhēn tīngjiǎng bìng zuò hǎo bǐjì.
The content of this lesson is very important; please listen carefully and take good notes.
把“麦克风”递给官兵!海军航空兵某团增强课堂吸引力
bǎ mài kè fēng dì gěi guān bīng ! hǎi jūn háng kōng bīng mǒu tuán zēng qiáng kè táng xī yǐn lì
[Translation pending - quota exceeded]
颜玉君:走出课室,倾听玛美里族雕刻背后的故事
yán yù jūn zǒu chū kè shì , qīng tīng 玛 měi lǐ zú diāo kè bèi hòu de gù shì
[Translation pending - quota exceeded]
年后跳槽快看!劳动部祭“课程奖励金”条件曝 最高领100万
nián hòu tiào cáo kuài kàn ! láo dòng bù jì kè chéng jiǎng lì jīn tiáo jiàn pù zuì gāo lǐng 1 0 0 wàn
Jump to work after the year! The Ministry of Labor offered "course incentives" conditions to receive up to 1 million
...考虑扩大“232关税”版图 新增六类产业课征国安税
. . . kǎo lǜ kuò dà 2 3 2 guān shuì bǎn tú xīn zēng liù lèi chǎn yè kè zhēng guó ān shuì
... Consider expanding the territory of "232 tariffs" and add six new types of industries to impose national security tax
暴风雪来袭 纽约市周一停课停学 19年来首见
bào fēng xuě lái xí niǔ yuē shì zhōu yī tíng kè tíng xué nián lái shǒu jiàn
Blizzard Hits New York City; Schools and Universities Closed on Monday—First Time in 19 Years
你从来没课还是怎样？
Nǐ cóngláiméi kè háishi zěnyàng?
You never have class or what?!
没有人忘记做功课吧？
Méiyǒurén wàngjì zuò gōngkè ba?
No one has forgotten to do the homework, right?
你知道为什么他今天逃课了吗？
Nǐ zhīdào wèishénme tā jīntiān táokè le ma?
Do you know why he skipped class today?
我们已经有那篇课文了吗？
Wǒmen yǐjīng yǒu nà piān kèwén le ma?
Do we already have that text?
Character Family
Semantic Family — Characters sharing the 讠 (speech) component
Frequently Asked Questions
What does 课 (kè) mean in Chinese?
What's the difference between 课 and 踝?
How many strokes does 课 have?
What is the radical of 课?
What are the components of 课?
What are common words containing 课?
What characters sound the same as 课 (kè)?
Is 课 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
Practice writing 课 with real-time feedback
Trace stroke sequences, hear spoken pronunciation, and build lasting retention with spaced repetition in the HanziFeed app.