Writing Balance Rule: The top component (衣 without the bottom hem) crowns the middle element (果), all sitting atop the final horizontal base strokes, maintaining a stable vertical center.
1. Meaning
to wrap around or bind up
to bundle or parcelto press into service or pressgangto make off with something
VerbNeutral#action#clothing#packaging
Sample Usage
把伤口裹起来。
Bǎ shāngkǒu guǒ qǐ lái.
Wrap up the wound.
包裹
bāoguǒ
parcel, package
2. Sound
/[kwɔ²¹⁴]/Tone: 214
裹
guǒguo3
|
++
ˇ(214)
=guǒ
Initial Consonant
g
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 raised against the soft palate
Final Rhyme
uo
Vowel Group: -o vowel group
Sounds like: -wo rhymes with wo in 'woke'
Mouth Shape Guide: Pronounce as standalone vowel 'waw'.
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 rises, matching an incredulous English 'Really?' or 'What?'
Sandhi: When followed by another 3rd tone syllable, changes to a 2nd tone (rising 35).
👂
Listening trap: Confusing the 'guo' final with 'ge' or 'gua' due to swift vowel transitions.
👋
Physical Tone Gesture: Trace a checkmark in the air: dip down from chest level to your waist, then sweep up to shoulder height.
3. Writing
Topology: Top-bottom · Strokes: 14 strokes
Writing Balance Rule: The top component (衣 without the bottom hem) crowns the middle element (果), all sitting atop the final horizontal base strokes, maintaining a stable vertical center.
4. Components
Radical衣 · Clothes Radical (clothing, garments)
Semantic Clue (形旁):衣 (indicates the action of wrapping or clothing)
Phonetic Clue (声旁):果 (original sound: guǒ)
A fruit (果) is wrapped up inside a piece of clothing or fabric (衣).
衣 clothing / wrapping cloth
果 fruit / phonetic clue
Phonetic Family (形声字家族)
15· Phonetic Root: 果 (guǒ)
5. History
Liushu category: Phono-semantic (形声)
Origin: Combined from 衣 (clothing) for the semantic meaning of wrapping and 果 (fruit) providing the pronunciation.
Semantic Evolution: Originally meant to wrap or cover with garments, later expanded to cover general parcels, wrapping wounds, and even abstract concepts like being wrapped up in something.
The character bridges physical textile wrapping with the container concept seen in modern words like 包裹 (package).
6. Sinosphere
🇻🇳
Sino-Vietnamese
khỏa
Mandarin Tone 3 corresponds roughly to Vietnamese hỏi tone.
🇯🇵
Kanji (Japanese)
On: カ (ka) / Kun: つつ.む (tsutsu.mu)
🇰🇷
Hanja (Korean)
과
7. Memory
Vivid Mnemonic Story
You take a juicy fruit (果) and wrap it safely inside your winter clothes (衣) to keep it from bruising.
Phonetic Family (形声字家族)
课
kèlessonReplaces clothing (衣) with speech (讠), representing words taught in a lesson.
裸
luǒnakedReplaces clothing (衣) with the flesh/body radical (衤/月), meaning removing all clothes.
Lookalikes & Traps (形近字)
果(guǒ)
果 means fruit alone; 裹 adds the clothing radical (衣) at the top/bottom wrapper to mean wrapping.
8. Mastery
Active Recall Challenge
请帮我把这个礼物[___]起来。
Clue: guǒ
Common Learner Pitfall
Confusing the complex structure of 裹 with simpler components, or missing the inner 果 part when handwriting.
Memory Prompts
Recognition: What does 裹 mean when you see it in 包裹 (bāoguǒ)?
Production: How do you write the verb meaning 'to wrap around' using clothing and fruit components?
Real-World Video Context
Watch authentic native speakers pronounce and explain this word in real-world YouTube videos.
Search theme
Accent preference
Results are live YouTube search — accents and levels aren't verified.
裹guǒto wrap around, bundle, parcel
Speed:
Searching YouTube for native pronunciation videos...