HSK 6 · Education

考古 kǎogǔ “archaeology” in Chinese

Said as káogǔ

Same in Traditional

What 考古 means

  1. archaeology
  2. to engage in archaeological studies

How to say 考古

  • Pitch chart of the third tone: dips low then rises, 2 to 1 to 4 on the five-level scale考kǎo3rd tone, dipping
  • Pitch chart of the third tone: dips low then rises, 2 to 1 to 4 on the five-level scale古gǔ3rd tone, dipping

Said as káogǔ. When two third tones meet, the first one rises into a second tone. You still write it with two third tones. How tone changes work

考古 in a sentence

  1. 他从事考古学工作。

    Tā cóngshì kǎogǔxué gōngzuò.

    He works in archaeology.

    Sentence #13846654 from Tatoeba · converted to simplified characters · translation adapted

  2. 汤姆是位考古学家，在领导罗马附近的发掘项目。

    Tāngmǔ shì wèi kǎogǔxuéjiā, zài lǐngdǎo Luómǎ fùjìn de fājué xiàngmù.

    Tom is an archaeologist leading the excavations near Rome.

    Sentence #13579012 from Tatoeba · converted to simplified characters · translation adapted

How 考古 is built

Each colour is one part of the character. Parts repeat across thousands of characters, so learning them makes new words easier. See all 214 in our radicals chart.

The character 考 (kǎo) with each of its parts in a different colour
考kǎoto beat
  • 耂old form of 老 · lǎoMeaning part
  • 丂part of the characterSound part

Memory aid考 and 老 share the top 耂 and once both meant “old”. Today 考 means to test.

The character 古 (gǔ) with each of its parts in a different colour
古gǔancient
  • 十ten · shí
  • 口mouth · kǒu

How to write 考古

考 6 strokes · 古 5 strokes

Watch the order, then press Try writing it and draw each stroke in the grid. Each stroke is checked as you go.

考古 (kǎogǔ) stroke order chart: each stroke of the characters in the order you write them
Stroke order chart for 考古 (kǎogǔ). Red marks the next stroke, so you can copy it onto paper one step at a time.

Words related to 考古

Words with 考

考kǎo · to take an exam考试kǎoshì · exam考虑kǎolǜ · to think over参考cānkǎo · to consult思考sīkǎo · to reflect on考察kǎochá · to investigate考核kǎohé · to assess考验kǎoyàn · to test

Words with 古

古代gǔdài · ancient times古典gǔdiǎn · classical名胜古迹míngshènggǔjì · famous sights and historic sites古怪gǔguài · strange古董gǔdǒng · antique

More words: Education & Learning

简体字jiǎntǐzì · simplified Chinese characters教养jiàoyǎng · upbringing精通jīngtōng · to be proficient in记性jìxing · memory (ability to remember)科目kēmù · (school) subject课题kètí · research topic旷课kuàngkè · to skip class母语mǔyǔ · mother tongue

FAQs

考古 (kǎogǔ) means “archaeology” or “to engage in archaeological studies”. It is an HSK 6 word.
Say it kǎogǔ: kǎo with a 3rd tone, then gǔ with a 3rd tone. In speech it sounds like káogǔ. When two third tones meet, the first one rises into a second tone. You still write it with two third tones. Press Listen at the top of this page to hear it, or Slowly to hear each tone clearly.
Yes. 考古 is written the same way in Simplified and Traditional characters.
Add a Chinese (Simplified) pinyin keyboard to your phone or computer, type kaogu with no tone marks or spaces, then choose 考古 from the suggestions. Typing kaogu into this dictionary’s search box finds it too.
考古 is an HSK 6 word in the HSK 2.0 word lists.

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Sources: meaning and pinyin checked by a native Mandarin teacher against the official HSK lists. Extra meanings from CC-CEDICT (CC BY-SA 4.0). Example sentences from Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR). Character parts and stroke order from Make Me a Hanzi.