核 meaning and stroke order
Pit; stone; nucleus
How to write 核, stroke by stroke
10 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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- 10
Meaning of 核
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- pit
- stone
- nucleus
- nuclear
- to examine
- to check
How 核 is built
Phono-semantic (sound + meaning) character. Tree.
木 gives the meaning and 亥 hints at the sound.
Radical: 木 (tree), shared by 388 characters on this site.
How to remember 核
核 (hé) is pictophonetic: 木 (tree) on the left gives the meaning, and 亥 (hài) on the right hints at the sound. Picture the hard pit hidden at the center of a tree's fruit, the core everything grows from.
核 appears in two main groups of words. One is about a core or nucleus, as in 核心 (héxīn) and 核能 (hénéng). The other is about checking, as in 核对 (héduì) and 审核 (shěnhé). Example: 请核对一下你的信息。(Qǐng héduì yíxià nǐ de xìnxī.) Please check your information.
Common mistake: Learners often confuse 核 with 该 (gāi), 孩 (hái) and 刻 (kè), which share the 亥 part. Remember that only 核 has the tree radical 木, and its tone is second tone hé, not hài.
Common words with 核
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| 考核 | kǎohé | to examine; to check up on | HSK 5 |
| 核心 | héxīn | core; nucleus | HSK 6 |
| 核武器 | héwǔqì | nuclear weapon | HSK 7-9 |
| 核对 | héduì | to check; to verify | HSK 7-9 |
| 核实 | héshí | to verify; to check | HSK 7-9 |
| 审核 | shěnhé | to audit; to investigate thoroughly | HSK 7-9 |
| 核能 | hénéng | nuclear energy | HSK 7-9 |
| 核桃 | hétao | walnut | HSK 7-9 |
| 核电站 | hédiànzhàn | nuclear power plant | HSK 7-9 |
| 核弹 | hédàn | nuclear bomb | |
| 核武 | héwǔ | nuclear weapon | |
| 核磁共振 | hécígòngzhèn | nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) | |
| 核子 | hézǐ | nuclear; nucleus | |
| 核查 | héchá | to examine; to inspect |
核 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Questions about 核
How many strokes are in 核?
核 is written with 10 strokes. The diagrams on this page number every stroke in the order it is written, with the new stroke shown in red.
What does 核 mean?
核 (hé) means pit; stone; nucleus. A common word with it is 考核 (kǎohé), meaning "to examine; to check up on".
How do you pronounce 核?
核 is pronounced hé, in the second tone (rising).
What is the radical of 核?
The radical of 核 is 木, which carries the idea of "tree". Dictionaries list 核 under this radical.
What is the traditional form of 核?
The traditional form of 核 is 覈. Traditional characters are used in Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau; 核 is the simplified form used in mainland China and Singapore.
Is 核 on the HSK exam?
Yes. 核 is part of the HSK 5 character list in the HSK 3.0 standard.
How do you say walnut in Chinese, and why does it use 核?
Walnut is 核桃 (hétao), and 桃 is read in the neutral tone here. The word uses 核 because a walnut is the hard nut or kernel you eat.
What is the difference between 核对 and 核实?
核对 (héduì) means checking items against each other, like comparing a list with a receipt. 核实 (héshí) means confirming that something is true or accurate, like verifying a report.