钩

鉤
gōu
noun HSK 7-9 #6,221

Measure Word

一个钩 gè

Meanings

  1. 1 hook
  2. 2 to hook; to crochet

Characters

Examples

HSK 4
Bǎ wàitào guà zài gōu shàng.
Hang the coat on the hook.
HSK 4
Nǎinai xǐhuan gōu máoyī.
Grandma likes to crochet sweaters.
HSK 5
Yú yǎo gōu le!
The fish bit the hook!

Tips

usage
As a noun, 钩 means "hook" (鱼钩 fishhook, 挂钩 clothes hook). As a verb, it means "to hook" or "to crochet" (钩毛衣).

Components

radical
钅 jīn
metal (left-form)
Left metal radical, the simplified left-side form of 金. It supplies the meaning: 钩 is a metal hook - fish hook, meat hook, hanger. The radical anchors a vast metals-and-tools family: 钉 (nail), 针 (needle), 锁 (lock), 链 (chain), 锤 (hammer), 铁 (iron). Anywhere you see 钅 on the left, expect a metal object or tool.
phonetic
勾 gōu
to hook; check off
Right 勾 supplies the sound - exact match gōu with no drift. 勾 itself pictures a hooked or curled wrap, and even by itself means 'to hook, to check off'; its semantic content is identical to that of 钩. So 钩 is essentially 'metal' added to 'hook' - a metal hook, the noun, distinguished from the verb-side 勾. Same phonetic family: 沟 (ditch), 够 (enough), 构 (frame).

Stroke Order

钩 gōu