Definition
科 (kē) has three main meanings: (1) a subject or field of study (broader than 学科; 科目 refers to a specific course); (2) an administrative section (smaller than 部, which is a larger division); (3) a taxonomic family in biology. For a specialized branch, use 专科.
noun
subjectdisciplinefield of studyadministrative departmentsectiontaxonomic family (biology)
Measure word · 个
Easily confused
- 和hélook-alike(conjunction) and
- 可kěsound-alike(adverb) used for emphasis: really, certainly, very
- 租zūlook-aliketo rent (as a tenant); to hire
- 克kèsound-alike(classifier) gram (unit of weight)
- 香xiānglook-alikefragrant, aromatic
- 颗kēsound-alike(classifier) for small roundish objects such as pearls, grains, teeth, hearts, stars, satellites
- 课kèsound-alikeclass; lesson; subject; course
- 棵kēsound-alike(classifier) for trees, cabbages, plants, and other growing vegetation
- 刻kèsound-alike(classifier) quarter (of an hour); a short moment
- 渴kěsound-alikethirsty
Examples
- 。Tā xué le sān mén bùtóng de xué kē.He studied three different subjects.
- ，。Tā zài cáiwù kē gōngzuò, nà ge bùmén yǒu wǔ míng yuángōng.She works in the finance department; that department has five employees.
- 科。Lǎohǔ hé māo dōu shǔyú māo kē dòngwù.Tigers and cats both belong to the feline family.
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