故gù
reason, cause; happening, instance. 9 strokes, radical 攵, first met in HSK 2.
What 故 is made of
古 (gǔ, old) and 攵 (pū, to rap).
攵 carries the meaning — tap — and 古 carries the sound.
How to write 故
Strokes 1–5 write 古, then strokes 6–9 write 攵.
Free, with no account: the app draws each stroke, then you write it and it says which stroke went wrong.
Print a 米字格 practice sheet for 故
Words that use 故
| 故事 | story, tale 讲给别人听的一段情节 奶奶每晚都给我讲故事。Grandma tells me a story every night. Lesson 27, 公园 · 刚毅果决与物换星移 · Fortitude, Precision & Social Fellowship |
| 故意 | intentionally, deliberately 特意这样做，不是不小心 他不是故意打碎杯子的。He didn't break the cup on purpose. Lesson 27, 公园 · 刚毅果决与物换星移 · Fortitude, Precision & Social Fellowship |
| 故乡 | one's native place, birthplace 在外地时常常想念的出生地 多年在外，他仍思念自己的故乡。After years away, he still longed for his native place. Lesson 194, 历史铭刻与丰碑纪念 · 城市建设与宏伟工程 · Urban Infrastructure, Engineering & Construction |
| 事故 | an accident 没有预料到、造成损失的意外情况 化验室严格防范安全事故。The lab strictly guards against safety accidents. Lesson 221, 试错反思与排除危害 · 科学探索与实验求索 · Scientific Exploration, Laboratory Experiments & Physical Inquiry |
| 故障 | malfunction, breakdown 指设备发生的损坏或失灵 冒雨排查机械故障，攻克技术难关。They braved the rain to check for a mechanical malfunction. Lesson 585, 笃行实业 · 艺苑流芳与经世济民 · Civic Governance & Cultural Renaissance |
| 缘故 | reason, cause 指事情发生的原由 说明了事情的前后缘故。It set out the reasons behind what had happened. Lesson 680, 原告陈述 · 探赜索隐与勇攀高峰 · Pioneering Exploration & Peak Achievements |
Characters that share the sound part 古
Written with the same phonetic, so their readings tend to rhyme with each other.
Characters that contain 故
More characters with the radical 攵
All 15 of them, and what the radical means, on the 攵 radical page.