section · impose

1. Origins, structure, and basic meaning

• Structure: The on reading is か. It has 15 strokes and relates to a department or the imposition of a duty.
• Basic usage: 課 is read か, and 課す is read かす.

2. Common pitfalls and similar expressions

• 課 and 課す
  • 課 means section or department. It is a noun read か for a section or department within an organization.
  • この申請は、どの課が担当していますか。 means “Which department handles this application?”
  • 課す means to impose or to assign. It is a transitive verb read かす for imposing or assigning a task, condition, or burden.
  • 教師は学生に短い作文の課題を課した。 means “The teacher assigned the students a short writing task.”