课堂
kè táng · HSK 2
classroom
🏫📚 课 = lesson + 堂 = hall → lesson hall = classroom
课 (kè) means lesson or class; 堂 (táng) means hall or main room. Together 课堂 literally reads as 'lesson hall' — the room where class happens.
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'.
堂 — earth 土 + phonetic 尚
A semantic-phonetic compound: 土 ('earth/ground') gives the meaning, while 尚 supplies the sound. It originally referred to a raised earthen platform or the main hall of a building built on such a foundation. From there it broadened to mean 'hall', 'main room', and by extension formal gatherings or halls of learning.