雇 (gù) - Meaning, Stroke Order & Audio

雇

gù[gu4]Tone 4

to employ, to hire, to rent

HSK 7

Multiple Readings (多音字):

Guru Deep Dive

English · to employ, to hire, to rent

Cached lesson

1 / 1

Topology:Top-bottom

Strokes:10

Writing Balance Rule: The top roof structure (户) must form a protective canopy over the bottom part (隹), keeping the vertical center line perfectly aligned.

1. Meaning

to employ or hire someone for work or services

to rent an object, vehicle, or property (historical usage)to lease

VerbFormal#labor#business#economy#transactions

Sample Usage

这家公司打算雇佣新员工。
zhè jiā gōng sī dǎ suàn gù yōng xīn yuán gōng.
This company plans to hire new employees.
他们雇了一辆车去旅游。
tā men gù le yī liàng chē qù lǚ yóu.
They hired/rented a car to go traveling.

2. Sound

/[ku⁵¹]/Tone: 51

雇

gùgu4

`(51)

=gù

Build the syllable

Step-by-step blending

Tone mark placement: Tone mark sits on "u" per main-vowel priority (a > e > o; in -iu/-ui the mark takes the second vowel).

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, releasing softly without a puff of air.

Final Rhyme

Vowel Group: -u vowel group

Sounds like: -u rhymes with oo in 'boot' under a falling tone

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 abruptly, much like saying 'Stop!' or 'No!' in English with sharp finality.

👂

Listening trap: Confusing it with Tone 1 (gū) or Tone 3 (gǔ); make sure the pitch drops steeply from high to low rather than staying flat or dipping.

👋

Physical Tone Gesture: Tone 4 is a sharp downward slash, mirroring a firm chop of the hand from high to low, exactly like nodding 'no' definitively.

3. Writing

Topology: Top-bottom · Strokes: 10 strokes

Writing Balance Rule: The top roof structure (户) must form a protective canopy over the bottom part (隹), keeping the vertical center line perfectly aligned.

4. Components

Radical 隹 · Short-tailed bird radical (birds, poultry, fowl)

Semantic Clue (形旁): 隹 (indicates a bird or captive creature metaphorically tied to service)

At the top is 户 (door/household), and at the bottom is 隹 (bird). A household opens its door to house and feed a rare bird, hiring it for service.

户 Door, household, or family
隹 Short-tailed bird

Phonetic Family (形声字家族)

2· Phonetic Root: 雇 (gù)

5. History

Liushu category: Phono-semantic (形声)

Origin: Originally, 户 represented a dwelling or household, and 隹 represented a bird. Together they referred to domesticating or hiring out labor, evolving into the meaning of employment.

Semantic Evolution: From managing domestic household labor or livestock/birds to hiring people for general employment and renting properties.

In ancient times, labor exchange was closely tied to agricultural households and domestic management.

6. Sinosphere

🇻🇳

Sino-Vietnamese

cố

Mandarin Tone 4 corresponds roughly to the Vietnamese sắc tone (sharp falling).

🇯🇵

Kanji (Japanese)

On: コ / Kun: 雇.う

🇰🇷

Hanja (Korean)

고

7. Memory

Vivid Mnemonic Story

At your household DOOR (户), you stand waiting to EMPLOY a homing BIRD (隹) to deliver urgent messages for a fee.

Phonetic Family (形声字家族)

顧

+ 頁 (head)

Explore this family →

Lookalikes & Traps (形近字)

固(gù)

固 has a box enclosure (囗) meaning 'solid/firm', while 雇 has a door canopy (户) meaning 'to hire'.

8. Mastery

Active Recall Challenge

这家跨国公司准备在当地___佣大量员工。

Clue: gù

Common Learner Pitfall

Confusing the top component 户 with 尸 (corpse) or writing the bottom 隹 with incorrect stroke counts.

Memory Prompts

Recognition: When you see the door (户) over the bird (隹), what action of hiring or renting comes to mind?

Production: How do you write the character for 'to employ/hire' (gù) containing a household door and a bird?

雇gùto employ, to hire, to rent

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