课 (kè): class

Measure Word

一节课 jié

Meanings

1 class
2 lesson
3 course

Characters

课

kè

class; lesson

讠 (speech) + 果 (fruit) - the fruit of instruction.

Examples

HSK 1

我们下午没有课。

Wǒmen xiàwǔ méiyǒu kè.

We don't have class in the afternoon.

HSK 2

今天有几节课？

Jīntiān yǒu jǐ jié kè?

How many classes are there today?

HSK 2

这节课非常有意思。

Zhè jié kè fēicháng yǒuyìsi.

This class is really interesting.

Tips

usage

上课 means to attend or start class. 下课 means class is over. These are among the first phrases students learn in China.

Components

radical

讠 yán

speech; words (left-side form of 言)

Speech radical on the left - the left-side form of 言. Lessons are taught aloud, students recite, teachers question: a 课 is fundamentally a speech-act. Anchors 课 with 说 speak, 话 talk, 讲 explain, 读 read, 论 discuss - the whole verbal-instruction family.

phonetic

果 guǒ

fruit; result

Right side 果 supplies the sound: guǒ → kè through Old Chinese velar shift. Carries faint semantic resonance - a 课 (lesson) yields a 果 (fruit, result) of learning. Same phonetic appears in 颗 (grain measure), 棵 (tree measure), 裸 (naked) - a wide k-/l- family.