刊 (kān) is a Chinese character meaning “to publish”. It is written from 干 (dry) and 刂 (knife (side form)), side by side, and takes 5 strokes.
Build the character for “to publish”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
干 + 刂
Left–right structure
Structure from: 说文解字（刊：从刀，干聲）
Memory aid
A dry (干) wooden block on the left, a knife (刂) on the right. Carve the block, ink it, press it — that is how something gets published. 刊 = put into print.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
5 strokes
In real words
- 期刊qī kānperiodical; journal刊 = kān
- 报刊bào kānnewspapers and periodicals; the press刊 = kān
Go deeper
All readings
to publish
to publish; to print; a periodical or publication
把文字排印出版；也指出版物，如期刊、报刊。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 期刊qī kānperiodical; journal刊 = kān
- 报刊bào kānnewspapers and periodicals; the press刊 = kān
Sound component
干 family onset shift
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 刊 mean?
刊 (kān) means to publish; to print; a periodical or publication.
How do you pronounce 刊?
It is pronounced kān.
What parts is 刊 made of?
干 (dry) and 刂 (knife (side form)), side by side. The recorded source is: 说文解字（刊：从刀，干聲）. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 刊 have?
5. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 刊?
刀. The radical is how the character is filed in a dictionary — it is not the whole story of how the character is built.
What words use 刊?
Common ones are 期刊 and 报刊. The reading of 刊 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.