勘 (kān) is a Chinese character meaning “to survey”. It is written from 甚 (very; extremely) and 力 (strength; power), side by side, and takes 11 strokes.
Build the character for “to survey; to check”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
甚 + 力
Left–right structure
Structure from: 说文解字·新附: 勘，校也。从力甚声
Memory aid
Put extreme (甚) effort (力) into it: to survey and check something thoroughly.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
11 strokes
In real words
- 勘探kān tànto prospect; to explore (for minerals)勘 = kān
- 勘察kān cháto survey; to investigate (a site)勘 = kān
Go deeper
All readings
to survey; to check
to survey; to explore (a site); to check or collate (a text)
实地查看、测量；校对、核对。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 勘探kān tànto prospect; to explore (for minerals)勘 = kān
- 勘察kān cháto survey; to investigate (a site)勘 = kān
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 勘 mean?
勘 (kān) means to survey; to explore (a site); to check or collate (a text).
How do you pronounce 勘?
It is pronounced kān.
What parts is 勘 made of?
甚 (very; extremely) and 力 (strength; power), side by side. The recorded source is: 说文解字·新附: 勘，校也。从力甚声. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 勘 have?
11. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 勘?
力. 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 勘?
Common ones are 勘探 and 勘察. The reading of 勘 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.