谷 (gǔ) is a Chinese character meaning “valley”. It is written from 八 (eight) and 人 (person) and 口 (mouth), and takes 7 strokes.
Build the character for “valley”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
八 + 人 + 口
Top–middle–bottom structure
Structure from: studyhanzi 现代字形拆分（对照 hanzi-writer-data 笔顺核验：2+2+3=7 笔，三段自上而下）
Memory aid
Two slopes splitting apart (八) above another pair of slopes (人), and at the bottom an open mouth (口) — the land opens its mouth between the hills: a valley.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
7 strokes
In real words
- 山谷shān gǔvalley谷 = gǔ
- 峡谷xiá gǔcanyon; gorge谷 = gǔ
- 曼谷màn gǔBangkok (capital of Thailand)谷 = gǔ
- 硅谷Guī gǔSilicon Valley谷 = gǔ
Go deeper
All readings
valley
valley; gorge; a low place between mountains
两山之间狭长而低洼的地带。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 山谷shān gǔvalley谷 = gǔ
- 峡谷xiá gǔcanyon; gorge谷 = gǔ
- 曼谷màn gǔBangkok (capital of Thailand)谷 = gǔ
- 硅谷Guī gǔSilicon Valley谷 = gǔ
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 谷 mean?
谷 (gǔ) means valley; gorge; a low place between mountains.
How do you pronounce 谷?
It is pronounced gǔ.
What parts is 谷 made of?
八 (eight) and 人 (person) and 口 (mouth). The recorded source is: studyhanzi 现代字形拆分（对照 hanzi-writer-data 笔顺核验：2+2+3=7 笔，三段自上而下）. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 谷 have?
7. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 谷?
谷. 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 谷?
Common ones are 山谷 and 峡谷. The reading of 谷 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.