棵 (kē) · measure word for trees, plants, and cabbages

Meanings

1 measure word for trees, plants, and cabbages

Characters

棵

kē

measure word for trees and plants

Examples

HSK 2

这棵花长得真好。

Zhè kē huā zhǎng de zhēn hǎo.

This plant is growing really well.

HSK 3

我种了一棵苹果树。

Wǒ zhòng le yì kē píngguǒshù.

I planted an apple tree.

HSK 4

院子里有两棵大树。

Yuànzi lǐ yǒu liǎng kē dà shù.

There are two big trees in the yard.

Tips

usage

棵 is specifically for plants rooted in the ground: trees (树), flowers / plants (花), vegetables like cabbage (白菜). For cut flowers, use 朵 or 束.

Components

radical

木 mù

tree; wood

Left wood radical - the indexing radical. 棵 counts trees and rooted plants, the things made of wood and growing from the ground. The radical immediately signals the semantic field. Same radical anchors 树 (tree), 林 (forest), 根 (root), 枝 (branch), 桃 (peach).

phonetic

果 guǒ

fruit; result (here phonetic)

Right 果 supplies the sound (guǒ → kē, with initial shift). 果 also carries a faint semantic echo - fruit comes from trees, the very things 棵 counts. Phonetic with light semantic alignment. Same phonetic in 颗 (measure word for small round things) and 课 (lesson).