功课
gōngkè · HSK 3
homework
📚 功课 = 功 (work/merit) + 课 (lesson/class)
功 means achievement or effort; 课 means a lesson or class subject. Together they name the work assigned for a lesson — homework or preparation. Compare 上课 (attend class) and 作业 (assignment) for the same 课 root.
功 — work 工 (phonetic) + strength 力 (semantic)
功 is a semantic-phonetic compound. The right side 力 (strength, a pictograph of a plow or flexed arm) gives the meaning, while 工 (work, originally a carpenter's square) supplies the sound. Together they convey effort applied to work — hence 'achievement, merit, accomplishment.'
课 — speech radical 讠(言) + fruit/result 果
课 is a semantic-phonetic compound. The left side 讠(言 'speech') gives the meaning, since the original sense involved oral examination or assessment. The right side 果 ('fruit, result') supplies the sound 'guǒ', which shifted to 'kè'. The meaning later broadened from 'test' to 'lesson' or 'class'.