锅 (guō) - Meaning, Stroke Order & Audio

锅

guō[guo1]Tone 1

pot, pan, wok

HSK 5

View Traditional FormSwitch to Traditional

鍋

Guru Deep Dive

English · pot, pan, wok

Cached lesson

1 / 1

Topology:Left-right

Strokes:12

Writing Balance Rule: The left metal radical (钅) should be compact and narrower on the left side, leaving ample space for the right phonetic component (呙) to breathe without crowding.

Simplification Logic: The traditional form 鍋 uses 釒 for metal and 呙 for sound. In simplified Chinese, the complex metal radical 釒 is streamlined to 钅.

1. Meaning

pot, pan, wok, or cauldron

pot-shaped thing锅 (colloquial slang) taking the blame or being scapegoated (e.g. 背锅)

NounNeutral#kitchenware#cooking#household

Sample Usage

妈妈在厨房用炒锅做饭。
mā ma zài chú fáng yòng chǎo guō zuò fàn.
Mom is cooking in the kitchen using a stir-fry wok.
这个锅的质量非常好。
zhè ge guō de zhì liàng fěi cháng hǎo.
The quality of this pot is very good.

2. Sound

/[kwɔ́]/Tone: 55

锅

guōguo1

¯(55)

=guō

Initial Consonant

Type: Unaspirated Velar

Sounds like: hard 'g' 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, then releases.

Final Rhyme

Vowel Group: -o vowel group

Sounds like: rhymes with 'swor' without the 'r' or 'guaw'

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

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

Tone

T1 (55)

5 → 5 (55)

1st Tone (High-Flat)

Tone Pitch & Cadence: Maintains a high, steady pitch with no rise or fall, just like a sustained high note in singing.

👂

Listening trap: Confusing the initial 'g-' sound with 'k-' or mispronouncing the 'uo' as a simple 'o'.

👋

Physical Tone Gesture: Tone 1 is a steady, flat high note, like singing a high musical note evenly across the top of your voice.

3. Writing

Topology: Left-right · Strokes: 12 strokes

Writing Balance Rule: The left metal radical (钅) should be compact and narrower on the left side, leaving ample space for the right phonetic component (呙) to breathe without crowding.

Simplification Logic: The traditional form 鍋 uses 釒 for metal and 呙 for sound. In simplified Chinese, the complex metal radical 釒 is streamlined to 钅.

4. Components

Radical 钅 · Metal radical (metal, mineral, implements made of metal)

Semantic Clue (形旁): 钅 (Indicates that a pot is a metallic cooking utensil.)

Phonetic Clue (声旁): 呙 (original sound: guō)

A pot is a heavy METAL object (钅) shaped to hold food, sounding out 'guō' (呙).

钅 metal radical (semantic)
呙 phonetic clue for 'guō'

Phonetic Family (形声字家族)

10· Phonetic Root: 呙 (guō)

5. History

Liushu category: Phono-semantic (形声)

Origin: Originally written with radical 金 (metal) and 呙 for sound, representing vessels cast in bronze or iron used for boiling and cooking food since ancient times.

Semantic Evolution: From ancient bronze cauldrons and iron cooking vessels to modern woks and kitchen pans, and recently extended in slang to mean 'blame' (e.g., 背锅 - carrying a pot on one's back, taking the blame).

In ancient China, large cauldrons (鼎 or 锅) were symbols of ritual power and communal nourishment.

6. Sinosphere

7. Memory

Vivid Mnemonic Story

Picture a shiny METAL (钅) wok shaped like a huge smiling mouth (口) with teeth grinding (呙) ingredients as you cook a sizzling stir-fry in your kitchen.

Phonetic Family (形声字家族)

锅

guōpot, wokBase character with metal radical

涡

wōwhirlpool, eddyReplaces metal with water radical (氵) for swirling water

蜗

wōsnailReplaces metal with bug radical (虫) for a snail with a shell

Lookalikes & Traps (形近字)

过(guò)

过 means to pass or cross and uses the walking enclosure (辶), whereas 锅 uses the metal radical (钅) for cooking pots.

8. Mastery

Active Recall Challenge

妈妈在厨房里用炒[___]做菜。

Clue: guō

Common Learner Pitfall

Confusing the tone (using tone 3 guǒ instead of tone 1 guō) or messing up the left-side metal radical structure with similar-looking characters like 过.

Memory Prompts

Recognition: When you see 锅, what is its English meaning and Pinyin?

Production: How do you write the Chinese character for 'pot/wok' (guō) with its metal radical?

锅guōpot, pan, wok

Speed:

Searching YouTube for native pronunciation videos...

0 / 0