客 (kè) - Meaning, Stroke Order & Audio

客

kè[ke4]Tone 4

customer; visitor; guest

HSK 1

Guru Deep Dive

English · customer; visitor; guest

Cached lesson

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Topology:Top-bottom

Strokes:9

Writing Balance Rule: The roof-like top element (宀) must crown the character with broad eaves, while the lower body (各) should remain compact and centered directly beneath it.

1. Meaning

guest, visitor, or customer

classifier for portions or courses of food when ordering in a restaurant

Noun / ClassifierNeutral#people#society#dining

Sample Usage

欢迎光临，请问几位客？
huānyíng guānglín, qǐngwèn jǐ wèi kè?
Welcome, how many guests are in your party?
家里来了很多客人。
jiālǐ lái le hěn duō kèrén.
Many guests have come to the house.

2. Sound

/[kʰɤ˥˩]/Tone: 51

客

kèke4

`(51)

=kè

Initial Consonant

Type: Aspirated Velar

Sounds like: k as in 'kite'

Aspirated

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, then releases a strong puff of air.

Final Rhyme

Vowel Group: -e vowel group

Sounds like: uh sound like the vowel 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, exactly like shouting 'Hey!' or giving a command.

👂

Listening trap: Do not confuse the short neutral vowel 'e' sound in kè with the longer 'ee' or 'ai' diphthongs.

👋

Physical Tone Gesture: Chop your hand sharply downward from high to low, mimicking a quick hatchet chop.

3. Writing

Topology: Top-bottom · Strokes: 9 strokes

Writing Balance Rule: The roof-like top element (宀) must crown the character with broad eaves, while the lower body (各) should remain compact and centered directly beneath it.

4. Components

Radical 宀 · Roof radical (roof, building, house)

Semantic Clue (形旁): 宀 (indicates a roof or shelter under which people gather)

Phonetic Clue (声旁): 各 (original sound: ge / ke)

A guest (客) is someone who enters under a roof (宀) to reach each (各) designated seat inside.

宀 roof or shelter
各 each or respective

Phonetic Family (形声字家族)

5· Phonetic Root: 客 (kè)

5. History

Liushu category: Phono-semantic (形声)

Origin: Originally combined the roof symbol (宀) representing a dwelling with '各' acting as both a phonetic guide and a hint at 'each person arriving at the house'.

Semantic Evolution: Shifted from a general sense of someone arriving at a building to specifically denote visitors, travelers, guests, and modern customers.

In ancient times, travelers staying overnight at an inn were referred to as guests (旅客).

6. Sinosphere

🇯🇵

Kanji (Japanese)

On: キャク / カク

🇰🇷

Hanja (Korean)

객

Sound Shift Bridge: The initial 'k' sound and final vowel preserve ancient roots found across East Asian vocabulary.

7. Memory

Vivid Mnemonic Story

A GUEST (kè) arrives at a house with a ROOF (宀). He greets EACH (各) person he meets at the door.

Phonetic Family (形声字家族)

各

gèeach, everyBase phonetic component without the roof.

略

lüèbrief, slightAdds the metal/left radical (钅) to the phonetic component 각/各.

Lookalikes & Traps (形近字)

容(róng)

容 has a tub/valley shape underneath the roof instead of '各'.

8. Mastery

Active Recall Challenge

这家餐厅有很多外国[___]。

Clue: kè rén

Common Learner Pitfall

Confusing the lower component '各' with similar looking radicals or misplacing the roof element so that it sits too low.

Memory Prompts

Recognition: When you see 客, what English word for someone visiting your home or buying something comes to mind?

Production: How do you write the character for 'guest/customer' (kè) which features a roof over the component for 'each'?

客kècustomer; visitor; guest

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