故 (gù) - Meaning, Stroke Order & Audio

故

gù[gu4]Tone 4

reason, cause, former, therefore, old

HSK 2

Guru Deep Dive

English · reason, cause, former, therefore, old

Cached lesson

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Topology:Left-right

Strokes:9

Writing Balance Rule: The left side (古) should be slightly narrower, leaving ample room for the right side (攵/攴). Keep the horizontal strokes evenly spaced and the vertical strokes balanced.

1. Meaning

reason, cause, past, former

thereforeintentionalold friendto pass away

Noun, Adverb, AdjectiveNeutral#abstract#causality#time

Sample Usage

什么缘故？
shénme yuángù?
What is the reason?
故意
gùyì
On purpose, intentionally

2. Sound

/[ku⁵¹]/Tone: 51

故

gùgu4

`(51)

=gù

Initial Consonant

Type: Unaspirated Velar

Sounds like: g sound as in 'go'

Unaspirated

Airflow Tactile Test: No burst of air (sounds like 'c' in Vietnamese 'cá' or 'k' in English 'skate').

Tongue & Mouth Position: Back of the tongue raises to touch the soft palate (velum), then releases cleanly.

Final Rhyme

Vowel Group: -u vowel group

Sounds like: -oo sound as in 'boot' or 'book' (pronounced with rounded lips back)

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 of your vocal range, exactly like shouting a sharp 'No!' or giving a firm command.

👂

Listening trap: Confusing it with Tone 4 of other velar stops like gù versus gú (not a standard syllable) or mishearing the abrupt drop as a neutral tone.

👋

Physical Tone Gesture: A sharp, authoritative downward chop in the air, matching the abrupt drop of a falling tone.

3. Writing

Topology: Left-right · Strokes: 9 strokes

4. Components

Radical 攴 · rap radical (strike, beat, action)

Semantic Clue (形旁): 攴 (Indicates action, doing, or causing something to happen.)

Phonetic Clue (声旁): 古 (original sound: gù)

The character combines 古 (ancient, old) on the left with 攴 (to strike/act) on the right. An ancient action or past event (古) put into motion or caused (攴) gives us the core meanings of 'reason', 'cause', and 'former'.

古 ancient, old (provides phonetic sound and background sense of the past)
攵 tap/strike component (provides sense of action or causing)

Phonetic Family (形声字家族)

26· Phonetic Root: 古 (gǔ)

5. History

Liushu category: Phono-semantic (形声)

Origin: Originally a phono-semantic compound where 古 (gù) provides the sound and 攴 (tap/action) indicates agency. Over time, it extended from 'ancient events' to 'reasons from the past', and further to 'therefore' and 'intentional'.

Semantic Evolution: From 'ancient things/events' ➔ 'reasons/causes of past happenings' ➔ 'deliberate/intentional actions' ➔ 'therefore/consequently'.

In classical texts, it frequently appears as a conjunction meaning 'therefore' or 'thus'.

6. Sinosphere

🇻🇳

Sino-Vietnamese

cố

Matches the Vietnamese sắc tone (high rising or abrupt high), sharing a similar historical borrowing pattern.

🇯🇵

Kanji (Japanese)

On: コ / Kun: ゆえ

🇰🇷

Hanja (Korean)

고

Sound Shift Bridge: Corresponds to historical initial velar stops in neighboring Sino-Xenic traditions (e.g. Japanese 'ko', Korean 'go').

7. Memory

Vivid Mnemonic Story

To find out the **reason** (**gù**) for an **ancient** (**古**) crime, the detective gave the suspect a sharp **tap** (**攵**) with his notepad.

Phonetic Family (形声字家族)

古

gǔancient, oldBase phonetic component without the action radical on the right.

苦

kǔbitter, sufferingAdds the grass radical (艹) on top, representing bitter herbs from ancient times.

估

gūestimate, appraiseAdds the person radical (亻) on the left, referring to people valuing ancient goods.

Lookalikes & Traps (形近字)

古(gǔ)

古 lacks the right-side action radical (攵), meaning strictly 'ancient' rather than 'reason/cause'.

8. Mastery

Active Recall Challenge

他今天迟到了，[___]没能赶上早班车。

Clue: gù

Common Learner Pitfall

Confusing 故 (gù) with 古 (gǔ) due to their visual similarity, forgetting that 故 includes the right-side action stroke cluster (攵).

Memory Prompts

Recognition: What does 故 mean when seen in words like 故意 (gùyì) or 原因 (yuángù)?

Production: How do you write the character meaning 'reason' or 'former' (pronounced gù)?

故gùreason, cause, former, therefore, old

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