GOU is a medium-sized, high-frequency syllable family.
It contains dogs, hooks, structures, enough, to buy, to connect, and some very common colloquial expressions.
The GOU family has five major centers of meaning:
1️⃣ 狗 gǒu — dog
2️⃣ 钩 / 鈎 gōu — hook; to hook; curved stroke (Chinese writing)
3️⃣ 构 gòu — structure; form; construct
4️⃣ 购 gòu — to purchase; buy
5️⃣ 够 gòu — enough; sufficient; to be enough
Secondary:
6️⃣ 篝 gōu — bamboo basket / bonfire
7️⃣ 苟 gǒu — careless; only/just; “rashly” (formal/literary)
8️⃣ 媾 gòu — to negotiate; to make peace (classical)
9️⃣ 遘 gòu — to encounter (rare)
🔟 耇 gǒu — old age (classical)
DEUTSCH
GOU ist eine kleine bis mittelgroße, aber sehr nützliche Silbenfamilie.
Sie umfasst Hunde, Haken, Strukturen, ausreichend / genug, kaufen, sowie mehrere wichtige Alltagsausdrücke.
Die GOU-Familie besitzt fünf zentrale Bedeutungsfelder:
1️⃣ 狗 gǒu — Hund
2️⃣ 钩 / 鈎 gōu — Haken; haken; Schreibstrich „Haken“
3️⃣ 构 gòu — Struktur; Aufbau; konstruieren
4️⃣ 购 gòu — kaufen; erwerben
5️⃣ 够 gòu — genug; ausreichend; ausreichen
Weitere Bedeutungen:
6️⃣ 篝 gōu — Bambuskorb; Lagerfeuer
7️⃣ 苟 gǒu — leichtfertig; nur; bloß (schriftsprachlich)
8️⃣ 媾 gòu — verhandeln; Frieden schließen (klassisch)
HOOK
ENOUGH
🧩 1. CORE MEANING FIELDS — GOU (EN / DE)
| Hanzi |
Pinyin |
EN Meaning |
DE Bedeutung |
Notes |
| 狗 |
gǒu |
dog |
Hund |
super-common |
| 钩 / 鈎 |
gōu |
hook; to hook |
Haken; haken |
also handwriting term |
| 够 |
gòu |
enough |
genug |
very common |
| 构 |
gòu |
construct; structure |
konstruieren; Struktur |
academic |
| 购 |
gòu |
to buy |
kaufen |
formal/commerce |
| 苟 |
gǒu |
careless; only |
leichtfertig; bloß |
literary |
| 篝 |
gōu |
wicker basket; bonfire |
Korb; Lagerfeuer |
rare |
⭐ 2) GOU-CORE #1 — 狗 gǒu (dog)
Most common everyday meaning of GOU.
| Word |
Pinyin |
EN |
DE |
| 狗狗 |
gǒugou |
doggie |
Hündchen |
| 小狗 |
xiǎogǒu |
puppy |
Welpe |
| 狗肉 |
gǒuròu |
dog meat |
Hundefleisch |
| 看门狗 |
kānméngǒu |
watchdog |
Wachhund |
Example
我家有一只小狗。
Wǒ jiā yǒu yì zhī xiǎogǒu.
EN: Our family has a puppy.
DE: Wir haben einen kleinen Hund.
⭐ 3) GOU-CORE #2 — 钩 gōu (hook; to hook)
Includes both the physical hook and the handwriting stroke.
| Word |
Pinyin |
EN |
DE |
| 钩子 |
gōuzi |
hook |
Haken |
| 勾画 |
gōuhuà |
outline; sketch |
skizzieren |
| 勾勒 |
gōulè |
delineate |
umreißen |
| 勾选 |
gōuxuǎn |
tick; check |
ankreuzen |
Calligraphy: 钩 = the “hook” stroke in Chinese characters.
⭐ 4) GOU-CORE #3 — 够 gòu (enough)
One of the most useful adjectives/verbs in Mandarin.
| Word/Phrase |
Pinyin |
English |
Deutsch |
| 不够 |
búgòu |
not enough |
nicht genug |
| 足够 |
zúgòu |
sufficient |
ausreichend |
| 够了 |
gòu le |
that’s enough |
es reicht |
| 够意思 |
gòuyìsi |
loyal; decent |
anständig; korrekt |
Example
水不够。
Shuǐ búgòu.
EN: There isn’t enough water.
DE: Nicht genug Wasser.
⭐ 5) GOU-CORE #4 — 构 gòu (structure; construct)
Used in academic/technical contexts.
| Word |
Pinyin |
EN Meaning |
DE Bedeutung |
| 结构 |
jiégòu |
structure |
Struktur |
| 构成 |
gòuchéng |
to constitute |
bilden |
| 机构 |
jīgòu |
institution; mechanism |
Institution; Struktur |
| 构造 |
gòuzào |
construction; makeup |
Aufbau; Konstruktion |
⭐ 6) GOU-CORE #5 — 购 gòu (to purchase)
Used in business, online shopping, and formal writing.
| Word |
Pinyin |
EN |
DE |
| 购买 |
gòumǎi |
to buy |
kaufen |
| 采购 |
cǎigòu |
procurement |
Beschaffung |
| 购票 |
gòupiào |
buy tickets |
Tickets kaufen |
| 购物 |
gòuwù |
shopping |
einkaufen |
Example
我在网上购物。
Wǒ zài wǎngshàng gòuwù.
EN: I’m shopping online.
DE: Ich kaufe online ein.
⭐ Secondary GOU Characters
苟 gǒu — careless; only (formal)
-
苟且 gǒuqiě — careless; sloppy
-
苟安 gǒu’ān — to seek comfort rashly
篝 gōu — bonfire / wicker basket
-
篝火 gōuhuǒ — bonfire (campfire)
媾 gòu — negotiate; make peace
-
议媾 yìgòu — negotiate (classical)
📊 MINI-COMPARISON TABLE — GOU
| Hanzi |
Pinyin |
English |
Deutsch |
Notes |
| 狗 |
gǒu |
dog |
Hund |
everyday |
| 钩 |
gōu |
hook |
Haken |
physical + writing |
| 够 |
gòu |
enough |
genug |
super common |
| 构 |
gòu |
construct |
konstruieren |
academic |
| 购 |
gòu |
buy |
kaufen |
commercial |
| 苟 |
gǒu |
careless |
leichtfertig |
literary |
🗣 EXAMPLE SENTENCES (EN / DE + Pinyin)
狗 gǒu — dog
这只狗很可爱。
Zhè zhī gǒu hěn kě’ài.
EN: This dog is very cute.
DE: Dieser Hund ist sehr süß.
钩 gōu — hook
把衣服挂在钩子上。
Bǎ yīfu guà zài gōuzi shàng.
EN: Hang the clothes on the hook.
DE: Häng die Kleidung an den Haken.
够 gòu — enough
他说得不够清楚。
Tā shuō de búgòu qīngchu.
EN: He didn’t explain clearly enough.
DE: Er hat es nicht klar genug gesagt.
构 gòu — structure
文章结构很好。
Wénzhāng jiégòu hěn hǎo.
EN: The structure of the article is very good.
DE: Die Struktur des Artikels ist sehr gut.
购 gòu — to purchase
我们需要采购一些材料。
Wǒmen xūyào cǎigòu yìxiē cáiliào.
EN: We need to procure some materials.
DE: Wir müssen einige Materialien beschaffen.
📚 Kurz-Zusammenfassung (EN / DE)
ENGLISH
GOU includes dog (狗), hook (钩), enough (够), construct (构), buy (购) plus literary forms.
A medium, highly practical family.
DEUTSCH
GOU umfasst Hund (狗), Haken (钩), genug (够), Struktur (构), kaufen (购) sowie literarische Varianten.
Eine mittelgroße, sehr praktische Silbenfamilie.
