gòu / gōu
noun #5,233

Meanings

  1. 1 shady business; underhanded dealing

Examples

HSK 4
Tā bèidìlǐ zǒng gàn xiē jiànbudérén de gòudàng.
Behind everyone's back he was always up to some shady business.
HSK 6
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