沽 (gū) is a Chinese character meaning “to buy (especially wine)”. It is written from 氵 (water (left-side form)) and 古 (old; ancient), side by side, and takes 8 strokes.
Build the character for “to buy or sell”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
氵 + 古
Left–right structure
Structure from: 现代字形拆分 ⿰氵古，按 hanzi-writer-data 笔画核验（氵3 + 古5 = 沽8）
Memory aid
Water (氵) beside something old (古): an old jug of wine you go out to buy. 沽 is the buying — and the selling — of what is in the jar.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
8 strokes
In real words
- 沽名钓誉gū míng diào yùto fish for fame and compliments沽 = gū
- 待价而沽dài jià ér gūto wait for the right price before selling沽 = gū
Go deeper
All readings
to buy or sell
to buy (especially wine); to sell. Mostly literary, and met today inside set phrases.
买（多指买酒）；也表示卖。多用于书面语和成语。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 沽名钓誉gū míng diào yùto fish for fame and compliments沽 = gū
- 待价而沽dài jià ér gūto wait for the right price before selling沽 = 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 沽 mean?
沽 (gū) means to buy (especially wine); to sell. Mostly literary, and met today inside set phrases..
How do you pronounce 沽?
It is pronounced gū.
What parts is 沽 made of?
氵 (water (left-side form)) and 古 (old; ancient), side by side. The recorded source is: 现代字形拆分 ⿰氵古，按 hanzi-writer-data 笔画核验（氵3 + 古5 = 沽8）. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 沽 have?
8. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 沽?
水. 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 沽?
Common ones are 沽名钓誉 and 待价而沽. The reading of 沽 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.