辜 meaning and stroke order
Crime, offense, sin
How to write 辜, stroke by stroke
12 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 辜
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- (bound form) crime; sin
- (literary) to abandon; to betray
How 辜 is built
Phono-semantic (sound + meaning) character. Bitter.
辛 gives the meaning and 古 hints at the sound.
Radical: 辛 (bitter), shared by 11 characters on this site.
How to remember 辜
辜 is 古 (gǔ, old) on top of 辛 (xīn, bitter). 古 gives the sound gū, and 辛 adds the bitter taste of guilt, so think of an old, bitter wrong that weighs on someone.
辜 almost never appears alone in modern Chinese. You mostly meet it in 无辜 (wúgū, innocent) and 辜负 (gūfù, to let down). Example: 我不想辜负你的信任。(Wǒ bù xiǎng gūfù nǐ de xìnrèn.) I don't want to let down your trust.
Common mistake: Learners often write 辜 as 姑 (gū, aunt) or 孤 (gū, lonely) because they share the same sound. Remember that only 辜 has 辛 on the bottom, and it is the one used in 无辜 and 辜负.
Common words with 辜
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
辜 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Questions about 辜
How many strokes are in 辜?
辜 is written with 12 strokes. The diagrams on this page number every stroke in the order it is written, with the new stroke shown in red.
What does 辜 mean?
辜 (gū) means crime, offense, sin. A common word with it is 无辜 (wúgū), meaning "blameless; innocent; the innocent".
How do you pronounce 辜?
辜 is pronounced gū, in the first tone (high and level).
What is the radical of 辜?
The radical of 辜 is 辛, which carries the idea of "bitter". Dictionaries list 辜 under this radical.
Is 辜 on the HSK exam?
Yes. 辜 is part of the HSK 7-9 character list in the HSK 3.0 standard.
Does 无辜 mean innocent in a legal sense or a moral sense?
It covers both. 无辜 literally means without guilt, and it can describe a person who did nothing wrong, like 无辜的人 (wúgū de rén, innocent people), or an innocent-looking face, as in 一脸无辜 (yì liǎn wúgū).
What kinds of things can you 辜负?
You 辜负 something good that someone gave you, such as 期望 (qīwàng, expectations), 信任 (xìnrèn, trust), or 好意 (hǎoyì, kindness). It is a polite but strong way to say you failed someone who believed in you.