故 (gù) is a Chinese character meaning “reason”. It is written from 古 (old; ancient) and 攵 (a hand holding a stick; marks an action done to something), side by side, and takes 9 strokes.
Build the character for “reason; story”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
古 + 攵
Left–right structure
Structure from: 现代字形拆分（IDS ⿰古攵；笔画核验 古5 + 攵4 = 9）
Memory aid
古 (old) on the left, 攵 (an action done to something) on the right: something old that was done — that is the reason, and that is the story.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
9 strokes
In real words
- 故事gù shistory; tale故 = gùHSK 3
- 故意gù yìon purpose; deliberately故 = gù
Go deeper
All readings
reason; old; on purpose
reason; cause; therefore; former; old; on purpose
原因；因此。也表示旧的、原来的，或有意地。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 故事gù shistory; tale故 = gùHSK 3
- 故意gù yìon purpose; deliberately故 = gù
Sound component
古 family tone diff
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 故 mean?
故 (gù) means reason; cause; therefore; former; old; on purpose.
How do you pronounce 故?
It is pronounced gù.
What parts is 故 made of?
古 (old; ancient) and 攵 (a hand holding a stick; marks an action done to something), side by side. The recorded source is: 现代字形拆分（IDS ⿰古攵；笔画核验 古5 + 攵4 = 9）. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 故 have?
9. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 故?
攵. 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 故?
Common ones are 故事 and 故意. The reading of 故 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.