股 (gǔ) is a Chinese character meaning “thigh”. It is written from 月 (moon; month) and 殳 (a hand holding a long-handled tool or weapon), side by side, and takes 8 strokes.
Build the character for “thigh; share”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
月 + 殳
Left–right structure
Structure from: 说文解字·肉部（股，髀也。从肉殳聲）；现代字形拆分为 月(肉)+殳
Memory aid
月 on the left is the flesh-body marker; 殳 on the right is a hand swinging a long-handled tool. The part of the body that swings like that is the thigh — and a 股 is also one swing, one strand, one share of something.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
8 strokes
In real words
- 股份gǔ fèna share; stock in a company股 = gǔ
- 股东gǔ dōngshareholder; stockholder股 = gǔ
Go deeper
All readings
thigh; share
thigh; a section or portion of a whole; a share in a company
大腿；整体中分出的一部分；公司的股份。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 股份gǔ fèna share; stock in a company股 = gǔ
- 股东gǔ dōngshareholder; stockholder股 = gǔ
Sound component
殳 family diverged
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 股 mean?
股 (gǔ) means thigh; a section or portion of a whole; a share in a company.
How do you pronounce 股?
It is pronounced gǔ.
What parts is 股 made of?
月 (moon; month) and 殳 (a hand holding a long-handled tool or weapon), side by side. The recorded source is: 说文解字·肉部（股，髀也。从肉殳聲）；现代字形拆分为 月(肉)+殳. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 股 have?
8. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 股?
月. The radical is how the character is filed in a dictionary — it is not the whole story of how the character is built.
What words use 股?
Common ones are 股份 and 股东. The reading of 股 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.