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To enroll in and attend an educational course or class.
她去年参加了一个为期三个月的编程课程。
She took a three-month programming course last year.
这个大学提供多种在线课程供学生参加。
This university offers various online courses for students to take.
Commonly used in both formal and informal contexts to describe enrolling in educational programs.
'参加课程' emphasizes enrollment and participation in a structured course, while '上课' (shàngkè) simply means 'to attend class' and does not necessarily imply enrollment in a full course. For example, '我今天上课' means 'I have class today,' but does not specify whether it's part of a larger course.
Use '参加课程' when referring to enrolling in a specific educational program, training, or class series (e.g., '参加英语课程' / 'take an English course'). For single class sessions, '上课' is more appropriate.
The phrase combines '参加' (cānjiā, meaning 'to join' or 'to participate') and '课程' (kèchéng, meaning 'course' or 'curriculum'). '参加' derives from '参与' (cānyù, to participate) + '加' (jiā, to add), while '课程' comes from '课' (kè, lesson) + '程' (chéng, procedure or course). The compound emerged in modern Chinese as education systems formalized.
Used for both academic and non-academic courses. In formal contexts (e.g., university applications), '修读课程' (xiū dú kèchéng) may be preferred, but '参加课程' is widely understood and used in daily speech.