雇 meaning and stroke order
To employ; to hire; to rent
How to write 雇, 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 雇
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- to employ
- to hire
- to rent
- variant of 雇[gu4]
How 雇 is built
Phono-semantic (sound + meaning) character. Bird.
隹 gives the meaning and 户 hints at the sound.
Radical: 隹 (short-tailed bird), shared by 32 characters on this site.
How to remember 雇
雇 is built from 户 (hù, door), which hints at the sound, and 隹 (zhuī, short-tailed bird), the meaning part. Picture a bird working at your door because you hired it to guard the house.
雇 (gù) means to hire someone for pay, and it shows up mostly in compounds like 雇主 (gùzhǔ, employer), 雇员 (gùyuán, employee), and 解雇 (jiěgù, to fire). Example: 公司雇了三个新员工。(Gōngsī gù le sān gè xīn yuángōng.) The company hired three new employees.
Common mistake: Learners often write 戶 or 尸 on top instead of 户, or mix 雇 up with 顾 (gù, to look after), which has the same sound. Remember that 雇 has the bird 隹 and is about hiring, while 顾 has 页 and is about caring or attending to.
Common words with 雇
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
雇 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Characters that contain 雇
Learning 雇 makes these easier to recognize and write.
Questions about 雇
How many strokes are in 雇?
雇 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 雇 mean?
雇 (gù) means to employ; to hire; to rent. A common word with it is 解雇 (jiěgù), meaning "to fire; to sack".
How do you pronounce 雇?
雇 is pronounced gù, in the fourth tone (falling).
What is the radical of 雇?
The radical of 雇 is 隹, which carries the idea of "short-tailed bird". Dictionaries list 雇 under this radical.
What is the traditional form of 雇?
The traditional form of 雇 is 僱. Traditional characters are used in Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau; 雇 is the simplified form used in mainland China and Singapore.
Is 雇 on the HSK exam?
Yes. 雇 is part of the HSK 7-9 character list in the HSK 3.0 standard.
What is the difference between 雇 and 请 for hiring someone?
雇 (gù) is a more formal or written word focused on a paid work relationship. In casual speech people often say 请 (qǐng), as in 请一个阿姨 (qǐng yí gè āyí, hire a housekeeper).
Are 雇佣 and 雇用 the same?
Both mean to employ or hire and are often used interchangeably. 雇佣 (gùyōng) appears in fixed terms like 雇佣兵 (gùyōngbīng, mercenary) and 雇佣关系 (employment relationship), while 雇用 (gùyòng) stresses the act of hiring and using someone's labor.