授课 (shòu kè) — to give a lesson (formal), to teach (a course) | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

A formal verb meaning 'to give lessons / teach (a course)' — used in academic and written contexts, more elevated than the everyday 教.

verb

to give a lesson (formal)to teach (a course)

Examples

授课。
Wáng jiào shòu měi zhōu gěi yán jiū shēng shòu kè liǎng xiǎo shí.
Professor Wang gives a two-hour lesson to graduate students every week.
。
Tā shòu wán kè hòu mǎ shàng qù le huì yì shì.
He went to the meeting room right after finishing the lesson.
授课。
Zhè suǒ xué xiào de lǎo shī dōu yòng yīng yǔ shòu kè.
The teachers at this school all teach in English.

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

An action followed by what it acts on, fused into one word.

课kèlesson

授 means give and 课 means lesson; together they mean to give lessons.

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

手手shǒuhand

Sound part声符shēngfú

受

受shòu授shòu

Same sound today

授 is built from 手 and 受. 受 gives the sound, and 手 is a hand.

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 課; 课 is its simplified writing.

言果課

Meaning part形符xíngfú

言言yánto say

Sound part声符shēngfú

果

The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 課 pairs 言 (to say) with 果 as a sound part; the simplified 课 is a shorthand and its right side is not a sound part.

Appears in

School & Education

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