HSK 3.0 Level 1 · School

上课 shàngkè “to go to class” in Chinese

Traditional 上課

What 上课 means

  1. to go to class
  2. to attend class
  3. to go to teach a class

How to say 上课

  • Pitch chart of the fourth tone: falls from high to low, 5 to 1 on the five-level scale上shàng4th tone, falling
  • Pitch chart of the fourth tone: falls from high to low, 5 to 1 on the five-level scale课kè4th tone, falling

上课 in a sentence

  1. 他因为生病没来上课。

    Tā yīnwèi shēngbìng méi lái shàngkè.

    He missed class because he was sick.

    Sentence #2325065 from Tatoeba · translation adapted

  2. 你明天几点上课？

    Nǐ míngtiān jǐ diǎn shàngkè?

    What time is your class tomorrow?

    Sentence #2302765 from Tatoeba · translation adapted

  3. 哎呀，差点上课迟到！

    Āiyā, chàdiǎn shàngkè chídào!

    Oh no, I was nearly late for class!

    Sentence #10024477 from Tatoeba · translation adapted

How 上课 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 上 (shàng) with each of its parts in a different colour
上shàngup; upper; above; previous
  • ⺊divination form of 卜 · bǔ
  • 一one · yī

Memory aidA short stroke above the line: up, on top.

The character 课 (kè) with each of its parts in a different colour
课kèsubject
  • 讠speech form of 言 · yánMeaning part
  • 果fruit · guǒSound part

讠 hints at the meaning (speech); 果 (guǒ) hints at the sound. Compare it with kè.

How to write 上课

上 3 strokes · 课 10 strokes

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

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

Words related to 上课

Words with 上

上shàng · up上午shàngwǔ · morning (forenoon)上学shàngxué · to go to school早上zǎoshang · morning晚上wǎnshang · evening上班shàngbān · to go to work上面shàngmiàn · above路上lùshang · on the road上来shànglái · to come up上去shàngqù · to go up

Words with 课

下课xiàkè · to finish class课kè · class课本kèběn · textbook课文kèwén · text (of a lesson)课程kèchéng · course课题kètí · research topic旷课kuàngkè · to skip class

More words: School & Work

大学dàxué · university大学生dàxuéshēng · university student读书dúshū · to read a book汉字hànzì · Chinese character上学shàngxué · to go to school下班xiàbān · to finish work下课xiàkè · to finish class小学xiǎoxué · elementary school

FAQs

上课 (shàngkè) means “to go to class” or “to attend class”. It is an HSK 3.0 Level 1 word.
Say it shàngkè: shàng with a 4th tone, then kè with a 4th tone. Press Listen at the top of this page to hear it, or Slowly to hear each tone clearly.
In Traditional characters, used in Taiwan and Hong Kong, 上课 is written 上課. The pronunciation is the same.
Add a Chinese (Simplified) pinyin keyboard to your phone or computer, type shangke with no tone marks or spaces, then choose 上课 from the suggestions. Typing shangke into this dictionary’s search box finds it too.
上课 is an HSK 3.0 Level 1 word in the official 2021 syllabus, and it is on our HSK 3.0 Band 1 word list. It is not on the older 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.