How is 考 pronounced?

考 is pronounced “kǎo” in pinyin.

What HSK level is 考?

考 belongs to HSK 1 in the HSK 3.0 vocabulary.

How do you write 考?

Follow the stroke-order animation above; 考 is written using standard stroke order. Practice it in the writing trainer.

HSK 1verb

考

Traditional: 攷

kǎo

考 (kǎo) means “to beat; to hit; variant of 考; to inspect; to test; to take an exam”. It is an HSK 1 Chinese character (traditional 攷) in the HSK 3.0 vocabulary.

Stroke order

Practice writing

Example

明天考中文。

Míngtiān kǎo Zhōngwén.

There's a Chinese test tomorrow.

Words containing 考

考试kǎo shìto take an exam; exam 参考cān kǎoconsultation; reference; to consult; to refer 考虑kǎo lüto think over; to consider; consideration 思考sī kǎoto reflect on; to ponder over 考察kǎo cháto inspect; to observe and study; on-the-spot investigation 考古kǎo gǔarchaeology; to engage in archaeological studies 考核kǎo héto examine; to check up on; to assess; to review; appraisal; review; evaluation 考验kǎo yànto test; to put to the test; trial; ordeal 高考gāo kǎocollege entrance exam (especially as abbr. for 普通高等学校招生全国统一考试); (Tw) entrance exam for senior government service posts (abbr. for 公务人员高等考试)报考bào kǎoto enter oneself for an examination 补考bǔ kǎoto sit for a makeup exam; to resit an exam; makeup exam; resit 考生kǎo shēngexam candidate; student whose name has been put forward for an exam

More HSK 1 vocabulary

HSK 1 →

爱àito love; to be fond of; to like; affection; to be inclined (to do sth); to tend to (happen)的deof; ~'s (possessive particle); (used after an attribute); (used to form a nominal expression); (used at the end of a declarative sentence for emphasis); also pr. [dì] or [di] in poetry and songs 八bāeight; 8 爸爸bà ba(coll.) father; dad 了le(completed action marker); (modal particle indicating change of state, situation now); (modal particle intensifying preceding clause)我wǒI; me; my 杯子bēi zicup; glass 是shìto be (followed by substantives only); correct; right; true; (respectful acknowledgement of a command) very well; (adverb for emphatic assertion)你好nǐ hǎohello 北京běi jīngBeijing, capital of the People's Republic of China 你nǐyou (informal, as opposed to courteous 您)在zàito exist; to be alive; (of sb or sth) to be (located) at; (used before a verb to indicate an action in progress)

Frequently asked questions

What does 考 mean?: 考 (kǎo) means “to beat; to hit; variant of 考; to inspect; to test; to take an exam”. It is an HSK 1 word.
How is 考 pronounced?: 考 is pronounced “kǎo” in pinyin.
What HSK level is 考?: 考 belongs to HSK 1 in the HSK 3.0 vocabulary.
How do you write 考?: Follow the stroke-order animation above; 考 is written using standard stroke order. Practice it in the writing trainer.

Updated: 2026-07-18