What does 考 mean in Chinese?

考 is a Chinese character with the radical 老.

How do you write 考?

考 is written with 6 strokes, starting from the 老 (old) radical and following standard Chinese stroke order (top to bottom, left to right). See the interactive stroke-order tool for the full animation.

What is the radical of 考?

The radical of 考 is 老 (old, Kangxi radical #125). Other common HSK characters using the same radical include 老.

How many strokes does 考 have?

The Chinese character 考 has 6 strokes.

What HSK level is 考?

On the new HSK exam syllabus, 考 is a character to recognise at HSK 2.

考: Chinese Character Details

考

HSK 2 character 6 strokes Radical: 老 (old)

Quick Answer

考 is a Chinese character with 6 strokes, radical 老 (old), HSK 2 on the new exam.

Full dictionary entry for 考 →Animated stroke-order for 考 →

Etymology

Oracle-bone origin

In oracle bone and bronze scripts, 考 and 老 are nearly indistinguishable: both show a stooped long-haired figure with a staff. 考 was originally a variant of 老 meaning a deceased father or an aged man, and the two were later differentiated by modifying the bottom stroke. It is pictographic, not phono-semantic.

Form evolution

Bronze forms differed from 老 mainly in the shape of the staff at the bottom. Seal script formalised this into 耂 on top with a distinct curved element below, and clerical script turned that element into the modern 丂 shape. The result is 老 with its lower 匕 replaced by 丂, a small change that carries the whole semantic split.

How the meaning evolved

Classical 考 meant a deceased father, still preserved in 先考 on tombstones and in 如丧考妣. It was then borrowed phonetically for the verb to examine or test, which became dominant, as in 考试, 考察, 思考. The old ancestral sense has nearly vanished from daily speech but survives in funerary and literary contexts.

Cultural note

The idiom 如丧考妣, meaning to grieve as if one had lost one's own parents, preserves the original filial meaning and is still used in formal writing to describe extreme distress. Most learners meet 考 only through 考试 and never suspect it once referred to a dead father.

Mnemonic

An old person bends — to test, to examine

Decomposition

考=耂component+丂component

Breaking a character into its components makes it far easier to recall. Each component above links to its own detail page.

Basic info

Stroke count	6 strokes
Radical	老 (#125: old)
New HSK exam	Recognise at HSK 2
Frequency	#403 most common

Example sentences

明天考试。
Míngtiān kǎoshì.
Exam tomorrow.
From 考试 (HSK 2)
我需要考虑一下。
Wǒ xūyào kǎolǜ yíxià.
I need to consider.
From 考虑 (HSK 4)
我建议参考这份研究报告。
Wǒ jiànyì cānkǎo zhè fèn yánjiū bàogào.
I recommend referring to this research report.
From 参考 (HSK 5)

Words containing 考

Word	Pinyin	Meaning	HSK
考试	kǎoshì	exam	HSK 2
考虑	kǎolǜ	Consider	HSK 4
参考	cānkǎo	Reference resources	HSK 5
思考	sīkǎo	Reflection	HSK 5
高考	gāokǎo	college entrance exam	HSK 4