庫 (kù) - Meaning, Stroke Order & Audio

庫

kù[ku4]Tone 4

warehouse, storehouse, file library

HSK 5

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库

Guru Deep Dive

English · warehouse, storehouse, file library

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Topology:Full enclosure

Strokes:7

Writing Balance Rule: The outer semi-enclosure (广) must gracefully shelter the inner element (车), keeping the character balanced and centered without collapsing to either side.

Simplification Logic: The traditional form 庫 contains 車 inside, while the simplified form 库 replaces the complex interior with 车 for easier handwriting.

1. Meaning

warehouse or storehouse for goods

digital file library or repositoryarmory or treasury in historical contexts

NounNeutral#buildings#commerce#computing

Sample Usage

这家公司有一个很大的仓库。
zhè jiā gōng sī yǒu yí gè hěn dà de cāng kù.
This company has a very large warehouse.
程序员需要更新代码库。
chéng xù yuán xū yào gèng xīn dài mǎ kù.
The programmer needs to update the code repository.

2. Sound

/[kʰu˥˩]/Tone: 51

庫

kùku4

`(51)

=kù

Initial Consonant

Type: Aspirated Velar

Sounds like: k sound as in 'key' or 'cool'

Aspirated

Airflow Tactile Test: Strong gust of air from throat! Tissue held in front MUST fly forward.

Tongue & Mouth Position: Back of the tongue raises to touch the soft palate, then releases with a strong burst of air.

Final Rhyme

Vowel Group: -u vowel group

Sounds like: -oo sound as in 'boot' or 'cool'

Mouth Shape Guide: Pronounce as standalone vowel 'oo'.

Common Learner Trap: Keep vowel quality steady across all 4 tone contours.

Tone

T4 (51)

5 → 1 (51)

4th Tone (High-Falling)

Tone Pitch & Cadence: Tone 4 starts high and drops sharply to the bottom, identical to a firm command like 'No!' or 'Stop!'.

👂

Listening trap: Confusing the sharp falling tone 4 with tone 2 or tone 3, or confusing the initial 'k-' with 'g-' due to lack of aspiration.

👋

Physical Tone Gesture: A sharp karate chop starting high in the air and slicing straight down to the floor.

3. Writing

Topology: Full enclosure · Strokes: 7 strokes

Writing Balance Rule: The outer semi-enclosure (广) must gracefully shelter the inner element (车), keeping the character balanced and centered without collapsing to either side.

Simplification Logic: The traditional form 庫 contains 車 inside, while the simplified form 库 replaces the complex interior with 车 for easier handwriting.

4. Components

Radical 广 · Cliff Radical (Shelter, building, or cliffside structure)

Semantic Clue (形旁): 广 (Indicates a physical building or shelter structure)

Phonetic Clue (声旁): 车 (original sound: chē / jū / ku (phonetic hint for storage/vehicles container context in modern simplified form, historically phonetic modified))

A cliff-like shelter building (广) designed to store vehicles and goods (车).

广 Shelter or building structure
车 Cart, vehicle, or internal component

Phonetic Family (形声字家族)

2· Phonetic Root: 庫 ()

5. History

Liushu category: Phono-semantic (形声)

Origin: Originally combined the shelter radical (广) with a phonetic element indicating a shielded space for keeping military chariots and provisions.

Semantic Evolution: Expanded from a military chariot garage or granary storehouse into any general warehouse, storehouse, and modern digital library or database.

In ancient times, such structures were vital for safeguarding state grains and armaments against weather and theft.

6. Sinosphere

🇯🇵

Kanji (Japanese)

On: コ (ko) / Kun: くら (kura)

🇰🇷

Hanja (Korean)

고

7. Memory

Vivid Mnemonic Story

You pull your car (车) underneath a giant cliff shelter (广) to drop it off at the secure downtown warehouse (库).

Phonetic Family (形声字家族)

裤

kùtrousers, pantsAdd the clothes radical (衤) on the left for clothing items worn on your legs.

酷

kùcool, cruelAdd the liquid/water radical (氵) on the left to describe someone cool or harsh.

Lookalikes & Traps (形近字)

裤(kù)

裤 has the clothing radical (衤) because pants are clothes, whereas 库 has the building radical (广) because a warehouse is a building.

8. Mastery

Active Recall Challenge

這家網上商城在城外建了一個很大的[___]。

Clue: cāng kù

Common Learner Pitfall

Confusing it with 裤 (pants) because they share the exact same pronunciation (kù) and tone.

Memory Prompts

Recognition: When you see 库, what building structure and modern digital concept come to mind?

Production: How do you write the word for 'warehouse' or 'database library' using pinyin kù?

庫kùwarehouse, storehouse, file library

Speed:

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