客 meaning and stroke order
Guest, traveller; customer
How to write 客, stroke by stroke
9 strokes in order. Each box adds the next stroke in red. Write top to bottom and left to right, and finish enclosing strokes last.
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Meaning of 客
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- customer; visitor; guest
- classifier for servings or portions (when ordering food)
How 客 is built
Ideographic (compound meaning) character. A person 各 welcomed under one's roof 宀; 各 also provides the pronunciation.
Radical: 宀 (roof), shared by 67 characters on this site.
How to remember 客
Picture a roof 宀 with 各 (gè, each) underneath: each person who comes under your roof is a guest. The 各 part also hints at the sound, as 各 and 客 share a similar ending.
客 appears mostly in words about guests, customers and travellers, such as 客人 (kèrén), 顾客 (gùkè) and 游客 (yóukè). The most common phrase is 不客气 (bù kèqì), the standard reply to thanks. Example: 今天我请客。(Jīntiān wǒ qǐngkè.) Today it's my treat.
Common mistake: Learners often confuse 客 with 容 (róng, to hold), which has the same roof but 谷 underneath, or with 各 (gè) alone, which lacks the roof. Also note 客 is fourth tone kè, not third tone kě like 可.
Common words with 客
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| 不客气 | bù kèqì | you're welcome; don't mention it | HSK 1 |
| 客人 | kèrén | visitor; guest; customer | HSK 2 |
| 顾客 | gùkè | customer; client | HSK 2 |
| 游客 | yóukè | traveler; tourist; (online gaming) guest player | HSK 2 |
| 请客 | qǐngkè | to give a dinner party; to entertain guests | HSK 2 |
| 旅客 | lǚkè | traveler; tourist | HSK 2 |
| 客观 | kèguān | objective; impartial | HSK 3 |
| 做客 | zuòkè | to be a guest or visitor | HSK 3 |
| 客气 | kèqi | polite; courteous | HSK 5 |
| 客户 | kèhù | client; customer | HSK 5 |
| 乘客 | chéngkè | passenger | HSK 5 |
| 客厅 | kètīng | living room; sitting room | HSK 5 |
| 博客 | bókè | (loanword) a blog; a blogger | HSK 5 |
| 客车 | kèchē | coach; bus | HSK 6 |
客 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Characters that contain 客
Learning 客 makes these easier to recognize and write.
Questions about 客
How many strokes are in 客?
客 is written with 9 strokes. The diagrams on this page number every stroke in the order it is written, with the new stroke shown in red.
What does 客 mean?
客 (kè) means guest, traveller; customer. A common word with it is 不客气 (bù kèqì), meaning "you're welcome; don't mention it".
How do you pronounce 客?
客 is pronounced kè, in the fourth tone (falling).
What is the radical of 客?
The radical of 客 is 宀, which carries the idea of "roof". Dictionaries list 客 under this radical.
Is 客 on the HSK exam?
Yes. 客 is part of the HSK 1 character list in the HSK 3.0 standard, and you are expected to write it by hand from HSK 2.
What does 客气 mean on its own?
客气 (kèqi) means polite or courteous, sometimes overly formal. 别客气 (bié kèqi) means don't stand on ceremony, make yourself at home.
How is 客 used as a measure word for food?
When ordering, 客 can count servings or portions, a bit like 份 (fèn). For example, 一客炒饭 (yí kè chǎofàn) means one portion of fried rice, though 份 is more common in everyday speech.