The character 科 — “branch”: how to write it and what it means
branch, section; science
The Chinese character 科 is read kē and means “branch, section; science”. Below: the stroke order step by step, what the character is made of and the words it appears in.
Stroke order: how to write 科
科 has 9 strokes. At each step the new stroke is highlighted — write them in the same order: top to bottom and left to right, horizontal before vertical, a frame before what is inside it, and the bottom stroke of the frame last.
To train your hand, print a handwriting sheet for 科, with strokes to trace and empty squares.
What 科 is made of
On the left, 禾 “grain”; on the right, 斗 “measure”: measuring out grain and sorting it by kind.
The parts of a character hint at its meaning or its reading — more in the article “Chinese character radicals”.
Words with 科
- 本科bachelor's degree programHSK 4
- 科学science; scientificHSK 4
- 科技science and technologyHSK 4
- 学科academic subjectHSK 5
- 科研scientific researchHSK 5
- 高科技high technologyHSK 5
- 内科internal medicine (department)HSK 6
- 外科surgery (department)HSK 6
- 儿科pediatrics, children's wardHSK 6
- 科目school subject, disciplineHSK 6
- 文科humanitiesHSK 6
- 理科sciences (track)HSK 6
- 专科junior college; specialtyHSK 6
- 科普popular science; educateHSK 6
- 科幻science fictionHSK 6
Frequently asked questions
How do you write the character 科?
科 has 9 strokes. They follow the usual rules: top to bottom, left to right, horizontal before vertical, outside before inside. The order of each stroke is shown on this page.
What does 科 mean?
科 means “branch, section; science”. It appears in 本科 (“bachelor's degree program”), 科学 (“science”), 科技 (“science and technology”), 学科 (“academic subject”).
How do you pronounce 科?
科 is read kē. The tone is part of the reading: with another melody it becomes another syllable.
How many strokes does 科 have?
9 strokes.
More characters on the page “Chinese characters with meanings” and in the list of HSK characters by level; whole words are in the dictionary.
Write 科 yourself
In the lessons you write characters stroke by stroke with a finger or a mouse, and the course checks the order. You can start for free, no sign-up needed.
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