壳 meaning and stroke order
(bound form) shell; Taiwan pr. [ke2]
How to write 壳, stroke by stroke
7 strokes in order. Each box adds the next stroke in red. Write top to bottom and left to right, and finish enclosing strokes last.
- 1
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- 7
Meaning of 壳
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- (coll.) shell (of an egg, nut, crab etc)
- case; casing; housing (of a machine or device)
- (bound form) shell
- Taiwan pr. [ke2]
- variant of 殼|壳[qiao4]
How 壳 is built
Ideographic (compound meaning) character. A shell discarded 冗 by a soldier 士.
Radical: 士 (scholar), shared by 11 characters on this site.
How to remember 壳
A soldier 士 on top tosses away something useless 冗 below: the empty shell left over after the good part is gone. Picture a soldier dropping a spent shell casing on the ground.
In everyday speech 壳 is read ké and means the hard outer layer of eggs, nuts, crabs, or the casing of a phone or machine. 鸡蛋壳 (jīdàn ké) is eggshell, and 手机壳 (shǒujī ké) is a phone case. Example: 这个手机壳很好看。(Zhège shǒujī ké hěn hǎokàn.) This phone case looks nice.
Common mistake: Learners often read every 壳 as ké, but in some formal or literary words it is read qiào, such as 地壳 (dìqiào) Earth's crust and 躯壳 (qūqiào) the body. Also do not confuse it with 売, the Japanese form meaning sell, which looks similar but is not used in Chinese.
Common words with 壳
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| 贝壳 | bèiké | shell (of a mollusk) | HSK 7-9 |
| 外壳 | wàiké | envelope; outer shell | |
| 弹壳 | dànké | ammunition case | |
| 空壳 | kōngké | empty shell | |
| 躯壳 | qūqiào | the body (as opposed to the soul) | |
| 地壳 | dìqiào | the Earth's crust | |
| 脑壳 | nǎoké | (coll.) head; skull; (fig.) brains (mental capacity) |
壳 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Characters that contain 壳
Learning 壳 makes these easier to recognize and write.
Questions about 壳
How many strokes are in 壳?
壳 is written with 7 strokes. The diagrams on this page number every stroke in the order it is written, with the new stroke shown in red.
What does 壳 mean?
壳 (ké) means (bound form) shell; Taiwan pr. [ke2]. A common word with it is 贝壳 (bèiké), meaning "shell (of a mollusk)".
How do you pronounce 壳?
壳 is pronounced ké, in the second tone (rising).
What is the radical of 壳?
The radical of 壳 is 士, which carries the idea of "scholar". Dictionaries list 壳 under this radical.
What is the traditional form of 壳?
The traditional form of 壳 is 殻 and 殼. Traditional characters are used in Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau; 壳 is the simplified form used in mainland China and Singapore.
Is 壳 on the HSK exam?
Yes. 壳 is part of the HSK 7-9 character list in the HSK 3.0 standard.
When is 壳 pronounced qiào instead of ké?
Qiào is used in a set of formal or scientific bound words like 地壳 (dìqiào) and 躯壳 (qūqiào). In casual, standalone use, like talking about an egg or a crab shell, say ké. In Taiwan, ké is common even in these words.
What does 空壳 mean when describing a company?
空壳 (kōngké) literally means empty shell, and figuratively it describes something with an outer form but no real content. 空壳公司 (kōngké gōngsī) is a shell company that exists on paper but does little real business.