勾 (gōu): to hook; to check off; to tick

Meanings

1 to hook; to check off; to tick
2 to entice; to attract
3 to sketch; to outline

Characters

勾

gōu

to hook; to check off; to entice

Examples

请在正确答案后面打勾。

Qǐng zài zhèngquè dáàn hòumian dǎ gōu.

Please put a checkmark next to the correct answer.

这道菜的香味勾起了我的食欲。

Zhè dào cài de xiāngwèi gōu qǐ le wǒ de shíyù.

The aroma of this dish stirred up my appetite.

画家先勾出轮廓。

Huàjiā xiān gōu chū lúnkuò.

The painter first sketched out the outline.

Tips

usage

勾搭 (to flirt with; to hook up with) carries a sleazy connotation, and 勾引 (to seduce; to lure) is even more negative. But 勾起回忆 (to evoke memories) is perfectly neutral and even poetic.

register

Almost everything uses the gōu reading. The one common exception is the noun 勾当 (a shady deal; dirty business), read with gòu, which has its own entry.

Components

radical

勹 bāo

wrap; embrace

Outer 勹 is the wrapping radical, depicting a person bending around something. Here it forms the curve of the hook, the bent shape that captures whatever the inner element marks. Same family as 包, 匆, 句, all chars where 勹 wraps an inner piece.

semantic

厶 sī

private; small enclosed mark

Inner 厶 is a small coiled mark, historically the tip of the hook, the bit that catches and holds. The combination reads as a curved arm bent around to grab: a hook. From that came the verbs to tick off, cross out, hook in, entice. Same inner element in 句.