觥

gōng
noun

Meanings

  1. 1 ancient horn-shaped wine vessel

Examples

HSK 7-9
Gōng chóu jiāocuò, xíngróng yànhuì rènao.
"Wine cups and drinking tallies in a tangle" pictures a lively, boisterous banquet.
HSK 7-9
Gǔdài zhǔrén jǔqǐ gōng xiàng kèrén jìngjiǔ.
In ancient times the host would raise a horn wine vessel to toast his guests.

Tips

culture
A 觥 was a bronze or horn wine vessel of the Shang and Zhou dynasties. The set phrase 觥筹交错 ("cups and tallies interlaced") is still the standard way to evoke a noisy feast.

Components

radical
角 jiǎo
horn
角 is the horn radical, signalling that the vessel was originally carved from an animal horn. It anchors the meaning of 觥.
phonetic
光 guāng
light; bright
光 supplies the sound (guāng shifted to gōng) and adds no meaning here. The reading has drifted from the modern pronunciation of 光.

Stroke Order

觥 gōng