Meaning of 教材
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- teaching material
Measure word: 本
How to use 教材
教材 refers to textbooks, course books, and other materials used for teaching, often in schools or language courses. It is a formal, neutral word, and the common measure words are 本 (běn) for a book or 套 (tào) for a set. Example: 这本教材很适合初学者。(Zhè běn jiàocái hěn shìhé chūxuézhě.) This textbook is very suitable for beginners.
教 (jiào) means to teach, and 材 (cái) means material, like the timber a builder works with. Put them together and 教材 is the raw material a teacher builds a lesson from.
Common mistake: Learners often read 教 here as first tone jiāo, as in 教书 (jiāoshū). In 教材 it is fourth tone, jiào, the same as in 教室 (jiàoshì) and 教师 (jiàoshī).
教材 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Stroke order for each character
Open a character for its meaning, components and more words.
教 jiāo · to teach · 11 strokes
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材 cái · timber · 7 strokes
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Related words
Words that share a character with 教材.
| 教学楼 | jiàoxuélóu | school building; academic building |
| 教育 | jiàoyù | to educate; to teach |
| 教师 | jiàoshī | teacher |
| 教室 | jiàoshì | classroom |
| 教学 | jiàoxué | to teach |
| 教练 | jiàoliàn | to coach; to train; instructor; sports coach; trainer (CL:位[wei4],名[ming2]) |
| 请教 | qǐngjiào | to ask for guidance; to consult |
| 教授 | jiàoshòu | to teach (a subject) |
| 教训 | jiàoxùn | to provide guidance; to lecture sb; to upbraid; a talking-to; a bitter lesson |
| 材料 | cáiliào | (raw) material; data |
| 身材 | shēncái | stature; build (height and weight) |
| 题材 | tícái | subject matter |
Questions about 教材
What does 教材 mean?
教材 (jiàocái) means "teaching material" and is used as a noun.
How do you write 教材?
教材 is made of 2 characters: 教 (11 strokes), 材 (7 strokes). That is 18 strokes in total.
Is 教材 an HSK word?
Yes. 教材 is on the HSK 3 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
What is the difference between 教材 and 课本?
课本 (kèběn) means a printed textbook used in class. 教材 is broader and can include textbooks, workbooks, audio, videos, and other teaching resources. In everyday talk they often overlap when people mean a course book.
How do I say a Chinese textbook using 教材?
You can say 中文教材 (Zhōngwén jiàocái) or 汉语教材 (Hànyǔ jiàocái). The subject goes before 教材, so a math textbook is 数学教材 (shùxué jiàocái).