沟 (gōu) is a Chinese character meaning “ditch”. It is written from 氵 (water (left-side form)) and 勾 (hook; to hook, to tick off), side by side, and takes 7 strokes.
Build the character for “ditch; channel”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
氵 + 勾
Left–right structure
Structure from: 简化字形：沟 = 氵 + 勾（《简化字总表》以「勾」代繁体「溝」的声符「冓」）；Unicode U+6C9F radical 85 (水)；hanzi-writer-data 笔画核验：0–2 笔为氵，3–6 笔为勾
Memory aid
Water (氵) running along a hook-shaped (勾) line cut into the ground — a ditch. 勾 also hands you the sound: gōu.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
7 strokes
In real words
- 沟通gōu tōngto communicate; to connect up沟 = gōu
- 山沟shān gōugully; ravine; remote mountain area沟 = gōu
- 鸿沟hóng gōuwide gap; chasm; gulf (between people or ideas)沟 = gōu
Go deeper
All readings
ditch; channel
ditch; gutter; channel; groove; gully
地面上或人工挖出的狭长凹处，可以流水；也指器物表面的细长凹痕。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 沟通gōu tōngto communicate; to connect up沟 = gōu
- 山沟shān gōugully; ravine; remote mountain area沟 = gōu
- 鸿沟hóng gōuwide gap; chasm; gulf (between people or ideas)沟 = gōu
Sound component
勾 family exact
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 沟 mean?
沟 (gōu) means ditch; gutter; channel; groove; gully.
How do you pronounce 沟?
It is pronounced gōu.
What parts is 沟 made of?
氵 (water (left-side form)) and 勾 (hook; to hook, to tick off), side by side. The recorded source is: 简化字形：沟 = 氵 + 勾（《简化字总表》以「勾」代繁体「溝」的声符「冓」）；Unicode U+6C9F radical 85 (水)；hanzi-writer-data 笔画核验：0–2 笔为氵，3–6 笔为勾. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 沟 have?
7. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 沟?
氵. 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 沟?
Common ones are 沟通 and 山沟. The reading of 沟 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.