狗 (gǒu) - Meaning, Stroke Order & Audio

狗

gǒu[gou3]Tone 3

dog

HSK 2

Guru Deep Dive

English · dog

Cached lesson

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Topology:Left-right

Strokes:8

Writing Balance Rule: Keep the animal radical (犭) on the left compressed and narrow, allowing the right component (句) more horizontal width and stability.

Simplification Logic: The left radical is the standard simplified form of the dog radical (犬 becomes 犭).

1. Meaning

dog

caninedespised person (derogatory slang)

NounNeutral#animals#pets#nature

Sample Usage

我有一只可爱的狗。
Wǒ yǒu yì zhī kě'ài de gǒu.
I have a cute dog.
那条狗在叫。
Nà tiáo gǒu zài jiào.
That dog is barking.

2. Sound

/[koʊ̯²¹⁴]/Tone: 214

狗

gǒugou3

ˇ(214)

=gǒu

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 rises to make contact with the soft palate.

Final Rhyme

Vowel Group: -o vowel group

Sounds like: -ou rhymes with 'oh' or 'soul'

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

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

Tone

T3 (214)

2 → 1 → 4 (214)

3rd Tone (Low-Dipping)

Tone Pitch & Cadence: Tone 3 dips low and then rises, similar to asking 'Really?' in English with a skeptical, dipping intonation.

Sandhi: When followed by another 3rd tone, gǒu changes to a 2nd tone (gòu), e.g., gǒuròu becomes góuròu.

👂

Listening trap: Confusing the low dipping tone 3 with tone 4, making it sound abrupt instead of dipping down and rising up.

👋

Physical Tone Gesture: Trace a checkmark in the air: dip down from your chest and sweep sharply up to your chin, mimicking the low-dipping 214 pitch curve.

3. Writing

Topology: Left-right · Strokes: 8 strokes

Writing Balance Rule: Keep the animal radical (犭) on the left compressed and narrow, allowing the right component (句) more horizontal width and stability.

Simplification Logic: The left radical is the standard simplified form of the dog radical (犬 becomes 犭).

4. Components

Radical 犭 · Dog Radical (Animals, beasts)

Semantic Clue (形旁): 犭 (Indicates the animal category (quadruped).)

Phonetic Clue (声旁): 句 (original sound: gou)

A dog (犭) that listens to a sentence or phrase (句) spoken by its owner.

犭 Dog radical (animal indicator)
句 Phonetic clue providing the 'gou' sound

Phonetic Family (形声字家族)

16· Phonetic Root: 句 (gōu)

5. History

Liushu category: Phono-semantic (形声)

Origin: Originally depicted as a pictographic drawing of a canine with pointed ears and a curly tail, later modernized into a left-right phono-semantic compound combining the animal classifier and the sound-provider 句.

Semantic Evolution: From ancient times referring specifically to the domestic canine, expanding metaphorically in modern slang to refer to people in humble or degraded positions.

The dog has been domesticated in China for thousands of years, holding significant roles in hunting, guarding, and folklore.

6. Sinosphere

7. Memory

Vivid Mnemonic Story

Picture a clever **dog** (犭) sitting down to write out a **sentence** (句) with its paw, barking out the sound **gǒu**!

Phonetic Family (形声字家族)

够

gòuenoughUses the strength/strength radical (力) instead of the animal radical (犭).

构

gòuto constructUses the wood radical (木) on the left.

沟

gōuditch, trenchUses the water radical (氵) on the left.

Lookalikes & Traps (形近字)

句(jù)

Missing the animal radical (犭) on the left; means sentence.

够(gòu)

Replaces the animal radical (犭) with the power radical (力); means enough.

8. Mastery

Active Recall Challenge

我家里养了一只可爱的[___]。

Clue: gǒu

Common Learner Pitfall

Confusing the animal radical 犭 with the similar-looking person radical 亻 or water radical 氵.

Memory Prompts

Recognition: What animal does 狗 represent, and what is its Pinyin with tone?

Production: How do you write the character for 'dog' using the animal radical and phonetic part?

狗gǒudog

Speed:

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