<p>This is a result of the polysemy of the word 'course' in English. <code>課</code> and <code>軌</code> are fairly distinct characters in Cantonese.</p>
<ul>
<li><p>If you intend 'course' to mean <strong>'A series of lectures or lessons in a particular subject, leading to an examination or qualification.'</strong>, you use <code>課</code> (see a.), NEVER <code>軌</code>. Sometimes, even if you use 'course' directly in Cantonese, it's understandable (see b.).</p>
<blockquote>
<p>a. 我將會上網<strong>課</strong>。I will attend online <em>lessons</em>.</p>
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
<p>b. 我嚟緊有個網上嘅<strong>course</strong>。I have an online <em>course</em> soon.</p>
</blockquote>
</li>
<li><p>If you intend 'course' to mean <strong>'The way in which something progresses or develops.'</strong>, you <em>may</em> use <code>軌</code>, but not always. This to me is not an accurate translation, because <code>軌</code> means more like 'track; trajectory; locus'.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>二戰嘅<strong>始末/過程</strong> the <em>course</em> of WWII<br>
鐵路<strong>軌道</strong> rail <em>track</em></p>
</blockquote>
</li>
</ul>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-05-19T16:39:30.457Z
Duōxiè L Parker
aitía
CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-05-19T16:33:43.387Z
2021-05-19T16:33:43.387Z
L Parker
<p>Even in some cases regarding education, you can still use 軌.</p>
<ol>
<li>course = 課</li>
<li>curriculum = 軌 (approximately); the publication record, dozens of papers = 軌 (approximately)</li>
</ol>
<p>For point 2, there are many courses in the curriculum to develop certain skills. &quot;curriculum&quot; is usually translated to 課<strong>程</strong>, where 程 has the meaning of journey or track.</p>
<p>Nowadays, China's universities introduce the &quot;tenure track&quot; to evaluate the academic performance of new teachers within their first 6-8 years. &quot;tenure track&quot; are translated to 常任軌.</p>
<p>However, I think 軌 is a more Western usage in education.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-05-20T16:02:57.070Z
2021-05-20T16:09:57.527Z
2021-05-20T16:09:57.527Z
Royun
<p>I would like to learn the equivalent translation for <code>course</code> in Cantonese, as in &quot;I am taking a <em>course</em> online&quot;. For this reason I entered this word in the dictionary <a href="https://cantonese.org" rel="nofollow noreferrer">CC-Canto</a> and received both <code>課</code> and <code>軌</code> as results. What is the difference in meaning between these symbols and which is more accurate in my case?</p>

<translation><difference><cantonese>
Difference between 課 and 軌
# Difference between 課 and 軌

(Asked by: username_0 on 2021-05-19)

I would like to learn the equivalent translation for `course` in Cantonese, as in "I am taking a *course* online". For this reason I entered this word in the dictionary [CC-Canto](https://cantonese.org) and received both `課` and `軌` as results. What is the difference in meaning between these symbols and which is more accurate in my case?

**Tags:** translation, difference, cantonese


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## 2 answers

### Answer by username_1 on 2021-05-19. Score: 2 | Accepted answer

This is a result of the polysemy of the word 'course' in English. `課` and `軌` are fairly distinct characters in Cantonese.

* If you intend 'course' to mean **'A series of lectures or lessons in a particular subject, leading to an examination or qualification.'**, you use `課` (see a.), NEVER `軌`. Sometimes, even if you use 'course' directly in Cantonese, it's understandable (see b.).

  > a. 我將會上網**課**。I will attend online *lessons*.

  > b. 我嚟緊有個網上嘅**course**。I have an online *course* soon.
* If you intend 'course' to mean **'The way in which something progresses or develops.'**, you *may* use `軌`, but not always. This to me is not an accurate translation, because `軌` means more like 'track; trajectory; locus'.

  > 二戰嘅**始末/過程** the *course* of WWII  
  > 鐵路**軌道** rail *track*

> **Comments:**
> **username_0**: Duōxiè username_1  

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### Answer by username_2 on 2021-05-20. Score: 1

Even in some cases regarding education, you can still use 軌.

1. course = 課
2. curriculum = 軌 (approximately); the publication record, dozens of papers = 軌 (approximately)

For point 2, there are many courses in the curriculum to develop certain skills. "curriculum" is usually translated to 課**程**, where 程 has the meaning of journey or track.

Nowadays, China's universities introduce the "tenure track" to evaluate the academic performance of new teachers within their first 6-8 years. "tenure track" are translated to 常任軌.

However, I think 軌 is a more Western usage in education.


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