告 (gào): tell, inform
告 (gào) is a Chinese character meaning “tell, inform.” Classified as HSK Level 2 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of 牛 (structural) and 口 (structural). It ranks #310 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).
Etymologically derived, 告 to speak 口 with the force of an ox 牛. Its radical form 口 (mouth) appears in many related characters such as 口 (kǒu, mouth), 叫 (jiào, to call, to be called), 右 (yòu, (bound form) right).
Definitions
- tell, inform
Etymology & Origin
ideographicTo speak 口 with the force of an ox 牛
Decomposition: ⿱牛口 (layout: top-bottom)
Stroke Order
Practice writing 告 with real-time feedback — trace each stroke in the correct order and build muscle memory in the HanziFeed app.
Words & Compounds
HSK Vocabulary with 告
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | HSK |
|---|---|---|---|
| 告诉verb | gào sù | to press charges | 2 |
| 报告verb/noun | bào gào | to inform | 5 |
| 广告noun | guǎng gào | to advertise | 4 |
| 警告verb | jǐng gào | to warn | 6 |
| 告别verb | gào bié | to leave | 5 |
| 转告verb | zhuǎn gào | to pass on | 5 |
| 公告verb/noun | gōng gào | post | 6 |
Common Compounds
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 被告noun | bèi gào | (law) the defendant |
| 控告verb | kòng gào | to accuse |
| 祷告verb | dǎo gào | to pray |
| 告知verb | gào zhī | to inform |
| 原告noun | yuán gào | complainant |
| 告发verb | gào fā | to lodge an accusation |
| 通告verb | tōng gào | to announce |
| 忠告noun | zhōng gào | to give sb a word of advice |
| 预告verb | yù gào | to forecast |
| 告密verb | gào mì | to inform against sb |
| 被告人noun | bèi gào rén | defendant (in legal case) |
| 无可奉告phrase | wú kě fèng gào | (idiom) no comment |
| 告密者 | gào mì zhě | tell-tale |
| 宣告verb | xuān gào | to declare |
| 广告牌noun | guǎng gào pái | billboard |
告 appears in 100 compound words: 34 as the first character, 43 as the last, and 23 in a middle position. Compound statistics computed from SUBTLEX-CH and HSK 3.0 vocabulary data.
Strongest Collocations
Characters that most frequently co-occur with 告 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.
Idioms & Chengyu (12)
to make known to every household (idiom); to disseminate widely; to shout from the rooftops
to offer to do something voluntarily and enthusiastically; to volunteer for
Example Sentences
公司发布公告，宣布下个月将进行组织架构调整。
Gōngsī fābù gōnggào, xuānbù xià gè yuè jiāng jìnxíng zǔzhī jiàgòu tiáozhěng.
The company issued an announcement stating that organizational restructuring will take place next month.
默茨访华前警告不要抱有“幻想”
mò 茨 fǎng huá qián jǐng gào bù yāo bào yǒu huàn xiǎng
Mertz warned against "illusions" before visiting China
腾讯发布元宝10亿红包活动报告:36亿次抽奖 10..
téng xùn fā bù yuán bǎo yì hóng bāo huó dòng bào gào yì cì chōu jiǎng . .
Tencent released Yuanbao 1 billion red packet activity report: 3.6 billion draws 10...
2026年世界知识产权报告:创新传播速度达历史新高
nián shì jiè zhī shí chǎn quán bào gào chuàng xīn chuán bō sù dù dá lì shǐ xīn gāo
2026 World Intellectual Property Report: Innovation Dissemination Reaches Historic High
用户报告多个网络服务出现问题
yòng hù bào gào duō gě wǎng lào fú wù chū xiàn wèn tí
Users report issues with multiple network services.
你能告诉我这是什么吗？
Nǐ néng gàosu wǒ zhè shì shénme ma?
Can you tell me what this is?
可以把新地址告诉我吗？
Kěyǐ bǎ xīn dìzhǐ gàosu wǒ ma?
Please let me know your new address.
您可不可以告诉我您贵姓？
Nín kěbu kěyǐ gàosu wǒ nín guìxìng?
Can you tell me your last name?
告诉我你是如果解决这些问题的？
Gàosu wǒ nǐ shì rúguǒ jiějué zhèxiē wèntí de?
Tell me how you got over such troubles?
你可以为我把这份报告翻译成意大利文吗？
Nǐ kěyǐ wèi wǒ bǎ zhè fèn bàogào fānyì chéng Yìdàlì wén ma?
Could you put this report into Italian for me?
Character Family
Frequently Asked Questions
What does 告 (gào) mean in Chinese?
How many strokes does 告 have?
What is the radical of 告?
What are the components of 告?
What are common words containing 告?
What characters sound the same as 告 (gào)?
Is 告 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
Practice writing 告 with real-time feedback
Trace stroke sequences, hear spoken pronunciation, and build lasting retention with spaced repetition in the HanziFeed app.