科
科 — Department
department, course, section
On’yomiカ (ka)
Kun’yomi—
Stroke order (9 strokes)
Watch the strokes draw themselves in the correct order — numbers mark where each stroke starts. Diagram from KanjiVG (CC BY-SA).
Common words using 科
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 科学 | かがく kagaku | science; to think about scientifically; to think in terms of science |
| 教科書 | きょうかしょ kyoukasho | textbook; coursebook; schoolbook |
| 学科 | がっか gakka | subject (of study); course of study; department (of a university) |
| 外科 | げか geka | surgery (branch of medicine); department of surgery |
| 医科 | いか ika | medical science; medical department |
| 科学技術庁 | かがくぎじゅつちょう kagakugijutsuchou | Science and Technology Agency (1956-2001) |
Study notes
科 is a JLPT N3 kanji written with 9 strokes. It is taught in Japanese elementary school (grade 2), so native children learn it early — a good sign it appears everywhere. Ranked #531 of the 2,500 most frequent kanji in newspapers. On’yomi (音読み) are Chinese-derived readings mostly used in compound words; kun’yomi (訓読み) are native Japanese readings, with any highlighted part written in hiragana after the kanji (okurigana).
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