贾 (gǔ) is a Chinese character meaning “merchant, trader (literary)”. It is written from 覀 (cover (flattened form of the radical 襾)) and 贝 (shell), one above the other, and takes 10 strokes.
Build the character for “merchant”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
覀 + 贝
Top–bottom structure
Structure from: modern glyph decomposition, cross-checked against hanzi-writer-data stroke counts (覀 6 + 贝 4 = 10; radStrokes 6–9 = 贝)
Memory aid
A lid (覀) held over shells (贝) — old money kept under cover, the stock of a trader. This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
10 strokes
In real words
- 商贾shāng gǔmerchants; traders (literary)贾 = gǔ
Go deeper
All readings
merchant; to trade
merchant, trader (literary); to do business
商人（书面语）；做买卖。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 商贾shāng gǔmerchants; traders (literary)贾 = gǔ
Rare readings, not taught: jiǎ
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 贾 mean?
贾 (gǔ) means merchant, trader (literary); to do business.
How do you pronounce 贾?
It is pronounced gǔ.
What parts is 贾 made of?
覀 (cover (flattened form of the radical 襾)) and 贝 (shell), one above the other. The recorded source is: modern glyph decomposition, cross-checked against hanzi-writer-data stroke counts (覀 6 + 贝 4 = 10; radStrokes 6–9 = 贝). Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 贾 have?
10. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 贾?
贝. 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 贾?
Common ones are 商贾. The reading of 贾 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.