苟 meaning and stroke order
Careless, frivolous, illicit; but, if only
How to write 苟, 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
- 6
- 7
- 8
Meaning of 苟
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- (literary) if indeed
- (bound form) careless; negligent
- (bound form) temporarily
How 苟 is built
Phono-semantic (sound + meaning) character. Wild grass.
艹 gives the meaning and 句 hints at the sound.
Radical: 艹 (grass), shared by 421 characters on this site.
How to remember 苟
苟 is grass 艹 on top of 句 (jù), which gives the sound. Picture wild grass growing any old way, careless and unplanned, and you have the sense of doing things carelessly or just getting by.
苟 (gǒu) is mostly literary and appears in set phrases rather than everyday speech. It often carries the idea of barely getting by or settling for less. Example: 他只想苟活下去。(Tā zhǐ xiǎng gǒuhuó xiàqù.) He only wants to scrape by and stay alive.
Common mistake: Learners often confuse 苟 (gǒu) with 敬 (jìng, respect), which contains a similar left part, or with 狗 (gǒu, dog), which has the same sound. Remember that 苟 has grass 艹 on top, while 狗 has the animal radical 犭 on the left.
Common words with 苟
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| 苟延残喘 | gǒuyáncánchuǎn | (idiom) to struggle on whilst at death's door | |
| 苟活 | gǒuhuó | to live without dignity; to barely sustain oneself |
Characters that contain 苟
Learning 苟 makes these easier to recognize and write.
Questions about 苟
How many strokes are in 苟?
苟 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 苟 mean?
苟 (gǒu) means careless, frivolous, illicit; but, if only. A common word with it is 苟延残喘 (gǒuyáncánchuǎn), meaning "(idiom) to struggle on whilst at death's door".
How do you pronounce 苟?
苟 is pronounced gǒu, in the third tone (dipping).
What is the radical of 苟?
The radical of 苟 is 艹, which carries the idea of "grass". Dictionaries list 苟 under this radical.
What does 一丝不苟 mean?
一丝不苟 (yī sī bù gǒu) means not being careless in the slightest, so it describes someone very meticulous. Here 苟 has its sense of careless, and 不苟 means not careless.
How is 苟 used to mean if in classical Chinese?
In literary Chinese 苟 can mean if indeed, introducing a condition. A famous line is 苟富贵，无相忘 (gǒu fùguì, wú xiāng wàng), meaning if we become rich, let us not forget each other. Modern speech uses 如果 (rúguǒ) instead.