gòu / gōu
noun #5,233

Meanings

  1. 1 shady business; underhanded dealing

Examples

Tā bèidìlǐ zǒng gàn xiē jiànbudérén de gòudàng.
Behind everyone's back he was always up to some shady business.
Zǒusī shì wéifǎ de gòudàng.
Smuggling is an illegal racket.

Tips

register
The gòu reading is bound: in modern Chinese it appears only in 勾当, which always refers to a dishonest or criminal activity and carries a strongly negative tone. The everyday hook/entice senses all use the gōu reading instead.

Components

radical
bāo
wrap; embrace
Outer 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 , , , all chars where wraps an inner piece.
semantic
private; small enclosed mark
Inner 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 .

Stroke Order

gòu