gāng
noun HSK 7-9 #13,648

Measure Word

kǒu

Meanings

  1. 1 jar; vat; crock
  2. 2 cylinder (in an engine)

Examples

Yuànzi lǐ yǒu yī kǒu dàshuǐ gāng.
There is a big water vat in the yard.

Tips

usage
also appears in compound nouns: 鱼缸 (yúgāng, fish tank), (shuǐgāng, water vat), 气缸 (qìgāng, cylinder/piston). The measure word is used because vats have an opening (mouth).

Components

radical
fǒu
earthen jar; pottery
Left earthen-jar radical — pictograph of a wide-bellied pottery vessel with a lid. The indexing radical: names exactly that kind of vessel, a clay vat or crock for storing water, grain, or wine. Same pottery family: jar, chipped (originally a broken vessel), emptied jar.
phonetic
gōng
work; craft (phonetic)
Right supplies the sound — gōng drifting to gāng with tone change. pictures a carpenter's square. Same phonetic family: jiāng, hóng, xiàng, gàng — chars where carries the sound. The artisan meaning is just background.

Stroke Order

gāng