Writing Balance Rule: The left side (古) should be compact and slightly narrower, leaving enough room for the right side (儿) to sweep gracefully downward.
1. Meaning
gram (unit of mass) / to subdue / to overcome
abbr. for Croatiato restrainTibetan unit of land area
Airflow Tactile Test: Strong gust of air from throat! Tissue held in front MUST fly forward.
Tongue & Mouth Position: Back of the tongue touches the soft palate, releasing a crisp burst of air.
Final Rhyme
e
Vowel Group: -e vowel group
Sounds like: rhymes with the neutral vowel sound in 'the' or 'hut'
Mouth Shape Guide: Pronounce as standalone vowel 'uh'.
Common Learner Trap: Keep vowel quality steady across all 4 tone contours.
Tone
T4 (51)
5 → 1 (51)
4th Tone (High-Falling)
Tone Pitch & Cadence: Tone 4 starts high and plunges straight down like a stern command or a sharp 'No!'
👂
Listening trap: Confusing it with Tone 1 or Tone 2 due to quick pronunciation; remember Tone 4 must drop steeply all the way to the bottom.
👋
Physical Tone Gesture: A swift, sharp karate chop downward from high in the air to symbolize a decisive downward stroke of energy.
3. Writing
Topology: Left-right · Strokes: 7 strokes
Writing Balance Rule: The left side (古) should be compact and slightly narrower, leaving enough room for the right side (儿) to sweep gracefully downward.
An ancient (古) person using human legs and strength (儿) to stand firm and conquer or overcome obstacles.
古 ancient / old
儿 legs / human
Phonetic Family (形声字家族)
2· Phonetic Root: 克 (kè)
5. History
Liushu category: Phono-semantic (形声)
Origin: Originally meant to withstand or bear the weight of something. Over time, it was borrowed phonetically for the foreign unit of measurement 'gram' (克).
Semantic Evolution: Shifted from meaning 'to restrain or overcome' to also serving as the standard phonetic translation for the metric unit 'gram'.
In modern times, it is widely recognized both as a native verb meaning 'to overcome' and as a transliteration character for foreign words like Croatia or grams.
6. Sinosphere
🇻🇳
Sino-Vietnamese
khắc
Corresponds to the entering/checked tone or sắc tone in Vietnamese depending on derivation.
🇯🇵
Kanji (Japanese)
On: コク (koku) / Kun: か-つ (katsu)
🇰🇷
Hanja (Korean)
극
Sound Shift Bridge: Shares roots across East Asian Sinosphere reading pronunciations such as 'koku' in Japanese and 'geuk' in Korean.
7. Memory
Vivid Mnemonic Story
Picture an ANCIENT (古) warrior standing on two LEGS (儿), using all his might to CONQUER and SUBDUE an enemy, weighing exactly one GRAM on a magical scale.
Phonetic Family (形声字家族)
克
kègram / overcomeBase character
刻
kèquarter hour / carveAdded knife radical (刂) on the right for carving time or objects.
铽
tèTerbiumMetal radical (钅) on the left for chemical elements.
Lookalikes & Traps (形近字)
古(gǔ)
古 means 'ancient' and lacks the legs (儿) at the bottom right that 克 has.
8. Mastery
Active Recall Challenge
我们要努力[___]各种困难。
Clue: kè fú
Common Learner Pitfall
Mistaking it for 古 (gǔ) because of the top component, forgetting to add the legs (儿) at the bottom right.
Memory Prompts
Recognition: What does the character 克 mean when used as a unit of measurement?
Production: How do you write the character for 'gram / to overcome' with pinyin kè and 7 strokes?
Real-World Video Context
Watch authentic native speakers pronounce and explain this word in real-world YouTube videos.
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克kègram / to subdue / to overcome
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