课 (kè) is a Chinese character meaning “class”. It is written from 讠 (speech radical) and 果 (fruit; result), side by side, and takes 10 strokes.
Build the character for “class; lesson”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
讠 + 果
Left–right structure
Structure from: 现代字形拆分，经 hanzi-writer-data 笔画数据核验（讠2画 + 果8画 = 课10画；笔画 0–1 为「讠」，笔画 2–9 与「果」逐笔对应）
Memory aid
Speech (讠) on the left, fruit (果) on the right: talk that bears fruit — that is a lesson, a class.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
10 strokes
In real words
- 上课shàng kèto attend class; to go to class课 = kè
- 讲课jiǎng kèto teach a class; to lecture课 = kè
- 课本kè běntextbook课 = kè
- 旷课kuàng kèto skip class; to be absent from class课 = kè
- 课堂kè tángclassroom; class (as a setting for teaching)课 = kè
Go deeper
All readings
class; lesson
class; lesson; course; subject of study
按计划分段进行的教学；也指教学的科目或教材中的一段。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 上课shàng kèto attend class; to go to class课 = kè
- 讲课jiǎng kèto teach a class; to lecture课 = kè
- 课本kè běntextbook课 = kè
- 旷课kuàng kèto skip class; to be absent from class课 = kè
- 课堂kè tángclassroom; class (as a setting for teaching)课 = kè
Easy to confuse with
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 课 mean?
课 (kè) means class; lesson; course; subject of study.
How do you pronounce 课?
It is pronounced kè.
What parts is 课 made of?
讠 (speech radical) and 果 (fruit; result), side by side. The recorded source is: 现代字形拆分，经 hanzi-writer-data 笔画数据核验（讠2画 + 果8画 = 课10画；笔画 0–1 为「讠」，笔画 2–9 与「果」逐笔对应）. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 课 have?
10. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 课?
讠. 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 课?
Common ones are 上课, 讲课, 课本. The reading of 课 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.