棍 (gùn) · stick, rod, club

Measure Word

一根棍 gēn

Meanings

1 stick
2 rod
3 club
4 cudgel

Characters

棍

gùn

stick; rod; club

A single-character word meaning stick or rod.

Examples

HSK 3

那个人用棍打了他一下。

Nàge rén yòng gùn dǎ le tā yíxià.

That person hit him once with a stick.

HSK 5

他手里拿着一根棍。

Tā shǒulǐ ná zhe yī gēn gùn.

He was holding a stick in his hand.

Tips

usage

棍 is often used in compounds: 棍子 (stick), 木棍 (wooden stick), 冰棍 (popsicle). As a suffix, 恶棍 (villain/scoundrel) uses 棍 metaphorically for a rough person.

Components

radical

木 mù

tree; wood

Left indexing wood radical - declares 棍 a wooden object. The vast majority of stick and club nouns carry 木: 杆 (pole), 棒 (cudgel), 枝 (branch), 桩 (stake). Without this radical, the right-side 昆 just means 'sibling' or 'insect swarm' - the wood radical is what specifies 'long wooden stick'.

phonetic

昆 kūn

elder brother; multitude

Right side supplies the sound (kūn → gùn - velar-stop pair, tone shift). 昆 also carries a faint 'paired/multiple' nuance, and sticks are often handled in bundles, but the primary role here is phonetic. Same phonetic series: 混 (mix), 滚 (roll), 鲲 (mythical fish).