卡 (kǎ) is a Chinese character meaning “card (bank card, ID card, greeting card)”. It is written from 上 (above; up) and 下 (down; below), one above the other, and takes 5 strokes. It has a second reading, qiǎ, which turns up in 关卡 — here the two readings are two separate things to learn, not one card with two answers.
Build the character for “card”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
上 + 下
Top–bottom structure
Structure from: Unicode/CHISE IDS 拆分 ⿱上下；现代字形经 hanzi-writer-data 2.0.1 笔画核验（卡 5 画 = 上 3 画 + 下 3 画，中间长横为两部件共用）
Memory aid
Up (上) pressed straight down onto down (下), the two of them sharing one line — nothing gets through the gap. Both parts are really in this character.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
5 strokes
In real words
- 卡片kǎ piàncard卡 = kǎ
- 卡车kǎ chētruck; lorry卡 = kǎ
- 贺卡hè kǎgreeting card卡 = kǎ
Go deeper
All readings
card
card (bank card, ID card, greeting card); also used to transliterate foreign syllables such as "ca"
卡片；也用于音译外来词的音节。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 卡片kǎ piàncard卡 = kǎ
- 卡车kǎ chētruck; lorry卡 = kǎ
- 贺卡hè kǎgreeting card卡 = kǎ
to be wedged; checkpoint
to be stuck or wedged in place; a checkpoint or barrier on a road
夹住、卡住，不能动；也指路上设置的关口。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 关卡guān qiǎcheckpoint; barrier post卡 = qiǎ
Easy to confuse with
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 卡 mean?
卡 (kǎ) means card (bank card, ID card, greeting card); also used to transliterate foreign syllables such as "ca".
How do you pronounce 卡?
Its main reading is kǎ. It also has a second reading, qiǎ, which only shows up in certain words such as 关卡 — so the word tells you the reading, not the character on its own.
Why is 卡 sometimes pronounced qiǎ?
Because it is a multi-reading character: each reading carries a different sense, and the word decides which one applies. In 关卡 it is read qiǎ.
What parts is 卡 made of?
上 (above; up) and 下 (down; below), one above the other. The recorded source is: Unicode/CHISE IDS 拆分 ⿱上下；现代字形经 hanzi-writer-data 2.0.1 笔画核验（卡 5 画 = 上 3 画 + 下 3 画，中间长横为两部件共用）. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 卡 have?
5. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 卡?
卜. 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 卡?
Common ones are 卡片 and 卡车. The reading of 卡 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.