辜 (gū) is a Chinese character meaning “guilt”. It is written from 古 (old; ancient) and 辛 (bitter; toilsome), one above the other, and takes 12 strokes.
Build the character for “guilt; crime”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
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Structure
古 + 辛
Top–bottom structure
Structure from: 说文解字: 辜，辠也。从辛古聲 (IDS ⿱古辛 verified against hanzi-writer-data strokes 0–4 / 5–11)
Memory aid
Something bitter (辛) handed down from old times (古): a guilt you carry. Someone who is 无辜 has none of it — innocent.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
12 strokes
In real words
- 无辜wú gūinnocent; guiltless辜 = gū
- 辜负gū fùto let down; to fail to live up to辜 = gū
Go deeper
All readings
guilt; crime
guilt; crime; offense (mainly in 无辜 “innocent” and 辜负 “to let down”)
罪；罪过。现代多用于「无辜」「辜负」等词。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 无辜wú gūinnocent; guiltless辜 = gū
- 辜负gū fùto let down; to fail to live up to辜 = gū
Sound component
古 family tone diff
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 辜 mean?
辜 (gū) means guilt; crime; offense (mainly in 无辜 “innocent” and 辜负 “to let down”).
How do you pronounce 辜?
It is pronounced gū.
What parts is 辜 made of?
古 (old; ancient) and 辛 (bitter; toilsome), one above the other. The recorded source is: 说文解字: 辜，辠也。从辛古聲 (IDS ⿱古辛 verified against hanzi-writer-data strokes 0–4 / 5–11). Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 辜 have?
12. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 辜?
辛. 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 辜?
Common ones are 无辜 and 辜负. The reading of 辜 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.