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千克 (qiān kè) — kilogram

Definition

千克 and 公斤 are the same unit ('kilogram'). 千克 is the formal/official term used in writing and measurement contexts; 公斤 is more common in everyday speech.

classifier
kilogram

Examples

  • 千克。
    Zhè dài mǐ zhòng shí qiān kè.
    This bag of rice weighs ten kilograms.
  • 。
    Wǒ mǎi le liǎng qiān kè píng guǒ.
    I bought two kilograms of apples.
  • ？
    Nǐ měi tiān chī jǐ qiān kè shuǐ guǒ?
    How many kilograms of fruit do you eat every day?

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

千qiānthousand
克kègram

千 (thousand) and 克 (gram) combine to name a unit of a thousand grams.

Characters in this word

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
一一yīone, signifying a number
Sound part声符shēngfú
人
人rén千qiān
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

千 pairs 人, whose sound was similar, with 一, a number stroke; the extra line was explained as extension, and a thousand is a number reached by extending counting.

Open 千 →

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

Open 克 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 4Units & Measurement

Browse more HSK 4 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.