Pinyin Syllable
Chinese characters pronounced gu
Learn common Chinese characters pronounced gu, including 古 gǔ, 故 gù, 股 gǔ, 顾 gù, 固 gù. Compare tones, meanings, traditional forms, words…
How to Pronounce This Syllable
To say gu, lead with the initial g, then flow without a break into the final u, holding the tone across the whole syllable.
Initial g
Start the syllable on the initial g, then run straight into the final u — keep them joined instead of sounding out separate English letters.
Final u
Keep the lips rounded.
Study Tip
Start with the most common characters (古 gǔ, 故 gù, 股 gǔ, 顾 gù, 固 gù) and lock in their tones. 15 common characters share the sound gu, so lean on words to tell the rest apart.
Learn by Tone
gu turns up here with 4 different tones; a change of tone usually means a different character, so the groups below are split by tone.
1st tone
Taking the 1st tone here: 姑, 估, 孤… (4 in total). Lock this tone in your ear before the meaning.
2nd tone
Taking the 2nd tone here: 滑 (1 in total). Lock this tone in your ear before the meaning.
3rd tone
Taking the 3rd tone here: 古, 股, 骨… (6 in total). Lock this tone in your ear before the meaning.
4th tone
Taking the 4th tone here: 故, 顾, 固… (4 in total). Lock this tone in your ear before the meaning.
Common Words With This Sound
Seeing gu inside whole words makes it clear which character is meant — here are common ones.
Characters
15 common characters in this group.