穀 meaning and stroke order
Valley, gorge, ravine
How to write 穀, stroke by stroke
15 strokes in order. Each box adds the next stroke in red. Write top to bottom and left to right, and finish enclosing strokes last.
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Meaning of 穀
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- grain
- corn
How 穀 is built
Components of the character.
Radical: 禾 (cereal), shared by 66 characters on this site.
How to remember 穀
Look for 禾 (hé, grain plant) tucked in the lower left of 穀. It is a grain stalk sitting under a covered storehouse shape (士, 冖, 一), with 殳 (shū, a hand holding a tool) on the right, so picture threshing harvested grain and storing it.
穀 is the traditional form used for grain. In simplified Chinese it merged into 谷 (gǔ), so words like 谷物 and 谷仓 are written 穀物 and 穀倉 in Taiwan and Hong Kong. Example: 農民把穀子收進倉庫。(Nóngmín bǎ gǔzi shōu jìn cāngkù.) The farmers put the grain into the storehouse.
Common mistake: Learners often mix up 穀 with 榖 (gǔ, the paper mulberry tree) and 縠 (hú, crepe silk), which look almost the same. Check the lower left part: grain 穀 has 禾, the tree 榖 has 木, and the silk 縠 has 糸. Also, do not use 穀 for valley. In traditional writing a valley is always 谷.
Common words with 穀
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
Questions about 穀
How many strokes are in 穀?
穀 is written with 15 strokes. The diagrams on this page number every stroke in the order it is written, with the new stroke shown in red.
What does 穀 mean?
穀 (gǔ) means valley, gorge, ravine. A common word with it is 谷仓 (gǔcāng), meaning "barn".
How do you pronounce 穀?
穀 is pronounced gǔ, in the third tone (dipping).
What is the radical of 穀?
The radical of 穀 is 禾, which carries the idea of "cereal". Dictionaries list 穀 under this radical.
What is the simplified form of 穀?
穀 is a traditional character. Its simplified form is 谷, used in mainland China and Singapore.
Why does 穀 show the meaning valley, gorge, ravine if it means grain?
Simplified Chinese uses one character, 谷, for both valley and grain, so dictionaries often list the valley meaning beside 穀. In traditional texts 穀 itself only means grain. A valley is written 谷.
What does 布谷 (bùgǔ) have to do with grain?
布谷 is the cuckoo. The name is often read as 布穀, sow the grain, because the bird calls in spring around planting time. In traditional characters it is commonly written 布穀.