Presumably, we are dealing with the groups $\Bbb Z_8$ and $\Bbb Z_4$.
Do you recall how these groups are defined?
The reason I put brackets around the "$k$", is because the "1" (for example) in $\Bbb Z_8$ is not "the same 1" as we have in the integers.
I "tag" the brackets with a subscript, so we know "which group they came from".
So when I write $k$ (or some other letter) without the brackets, I mean the actual integer.
Here is how we create $\Bbb Z_8$:
we send the sets:
$\{...-24,-16,-8,0,8,16,24,...\} \to [0]_8$
$\{...-23,-15,-7,1,9,17,25,...\} \to [1]_8$
...
$\{8n+k: n \in \Bbb Z\} \to [k]_8$.
So if an integer $m$ is in the SET $[k]_8$ (these are COSETS of the multiples of 8, that is cosets of the subgroup $8\Bbb Z \subseteq \Bbb Z$), this means $m = 8n + k$, for some integer $n$.
The group $\Bbb Z_8$ is referred to variously as:
"The cyclic group of order 8"
"The integers modulo 8"
"The quotient group $\Bbb Z/8\Bbb Z$".
Do you have more questions?