沽 meaning and stroke order
To buy and sell; of inferior quality
How to write 沽, stroke by stroke
8 strokes in order. Each box adds the next stroke in red. Write top to bottom and left to right, and finish enclosing strokes last.
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
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- 7
- 8
Meaning of 沽
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- to buy
- to sell
How 沽 is built
Phono-semantic (sound + meaning) character. Water.
氵 gives the meaning and 古 hints at the sound.
Radical: 氵 (water), shared by 467 characters on this site.
How to remember 沽
沽 combines the water radical 氵 with 古 (gǔ), which gives the sound. Picture an old (古) wine seller by the water ladling out drinks to buy and sell.
沽 is a literary character and rarely appears alone in everyday speech. You mostly meet it in set phrases and idioms, such as 沽名钓誉 (gūmíng-diàoyù), "to fish for fame." Example: 他做慈善只是沽名钓誉。(Tā zuò císhàn zhǐshì gūmíng-diàoyù.) He does charity only to angle for fame.
Common mistake: Learners often read 沽 with the third tone of its phonetic 古 (gǔ), but 沽 is first tone, gū. Also do not confuse it with 估 (gū, to estimate), which has the person radical 亻 instead of water.
Common words with 沽
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| 沽名钓誉 | gūmíng-diàoyù | to angle for fame (idiom); to fish for compliments | HSK 7-9 |
Questions about 沽
How many strokes are in 沽?
沽 is written with 8 strokes. The diagrams on this page number every stroke in the order it is written, with the new stroke shown in red.
What does 沽 mean?
沽 (gū) means to buy and sell; of inferior quality. A common word with it is 沽名钓誉 (gūmíng-diàoyù), meaning "to angle for fame (idiom); to fish for compliments".
How do you pronounce 沽?
沽 is pronounced gū, in the first tone (high and level).
What is the radical of 沽?
The radical of 沽 is 氵, which carries the idea of "water". Dictionaries list 沽 under this radical.
Is 沽 on the HSK exam?
Yes. 沽 is part of the HSK 7-9 character list in the HSK 3.0 standard.
Is 沽 used in modern Chinese for buying things?
Not in normal conversation. For buying and selling people say 买 (mǎi) and 卖 (mài). 沽 survives mainly in idioms and formal or classical writing.
Does 沽 have a negative meaning in 沽名钓誉?
Yes. The idiom describes someone who chases fame or praise by dishonest or showy means, so it is a criticism. You would not use it to compliment someone.