gǒu
noun #30,561

Meanings

  1. 1 a bound morpheme used in plant names — chiefly 枸杞 (gǒuqǐ, goji berry / wolfberry) and 枸骨 (gǒugǔ, Chinese holly)
  2. 2 (reading jǔ) used in 枸橼 (jǔyuán, citron)
  3. 3 (reading gōu) bent; crooked (rare)

Examples

Gǒu zuì chángjiànyú gǒuqǐ zhège cí lǐ.
枸 most commonly appears in the word goji (gǒuqǐ).
Māma pào le yī bēi gǒuqǐchá.
Mom brewed a cup of goji tea.

Tips

memory
Wood radical + (gōu/jù) phonetic. has three readings: gǒu (枸杞 goji, holly) — by far the most common, jǔ ( citron), and gōu (a rare "bent" reading). For practical purposes, when you see today it's almost always pronounced gǒu in 枸杞.

Components

radical
tree; wood
Tree radical on the left marks as a plant — used almost exclusively in compound names like 枸杞 (goji berry / wolfberry) and (Chinese holly). The radical groups it with the rest of the plant kingdom in script: , , , .
phonetic
phrase; sentence
Right side supplies the sound: jù → gǒu / jǔ / gōu (the character carries multiple readings depending on which plant it names). is purely phonetic; its 'sentence' meaning is not active. Same phonetic family as colt, detain, dog — sharing a bound, hooked, or curled sense.

Stroke Order

gǒu