蠱 meaning and stroke order
Poison, venom; to bewitch, to harm
How to write 蠱, stroke by stroke
23 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 蠱
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- arch. legendary venomous insect
- to poison
- to bewitch
- to drive to insanity
- to harm by witchcraft
- intestinal parasite
How 蠱 is built
Phono-semantic (sound + meaning) character. Insect.
蟲 gives the meaning and 皿 hints at the sound.
Radical: 虫 (insect), shared by 197 characters on this site.
How to remember 蠱
Picture three insects 蟲 crawling over a dish 皿 (mǐn). In legend, people sealed venomous bugs in a vessel to breed poison, so bugs on a dish suggest poison and witchcraft.
Today 蠱 (simplified 蛊) appears mostly in set words like 蛊惑 (gǔhuò), meaning to tempt or mislead someone, often with a sense of manipulation. Example: 不要被他的话蛊惑。(Bú yào bèi tā de huà gǔhuò.) Don't let his words lead you astray.
Common mistake: Learners often confuse 蛊 (gǔ) with 虽 (suī, although), since both have 虫 plus another part. In 蛊 the 虫 sits on top of the dish 皿, while 虽 has 口 on top of 虫.
Common words with 蠱
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| 蠱惑 | gǔhuò | to entice; to lead astray |
Questions about 蠱
How many strokes are in 蠱?
蠱 is written with 23 strokes. The diagrams on this page number every stroke in the order it is written, with the new stroke shown in red.
What does 蠱 mean?
蠱 (gǔ) means poison, venom; to bewitch, to harm. A common word with it is 蛊惑 (gǔhuò), meaning "to entice; to lead astray".
How do you pronounce 蠱?
蠱 is pronounced gǔ, in the third tone (dipping).
What is the radical of 蠱?
The radical of 蠱 is 虫, which carries the idea of "insect". Dictionaries list 蠱 under this radical.
What is the simplified form of 蠱?
蠱 is a traditional character. Its simplified form is 蛊, used in mainland China and Singapore.
What does 蛊惑人心 mean?
蛊惑人心 (gǔhuò rénxīn) means to stir up or mislead public feeling, usually through rumors or propaganda. It is a negative, fairly formal expression.
Is 蠱 the same as the word for poison 毒 (dú)?
No. 毒 is the everyday word for poison or toxic. 蠱 carries a sense of magical or legendary poison and bewitchment, and is mostly found in literature, folklore, and fixed words.