够 (gòu): enough (sufficient), enough (too much), (coll.) (before adj.) really
够 (gòu) is a Chinese character meaning “enough (sufficient).” Classified as HSK Level 4 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of 句 (phonetic) and 多 (semantic). It ranks #538 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).
Etymologically derived, 够 more. Its radical form 夕 (evening) appears in many related characters such as 外 (wài, outside), 多 (duō, many), 夜 (yè, night).
Definitions
- enough (sufficient)
- enough (too much)
- (coll.) (before adj.) really
Etymology & Origin
Stroke Order
Practice writing 够 with real-time feedback — trace each stroke in the correct order and build muscle memory in the HanziFeed app.
Words & Compounds
HSK Vocabulary with 够
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | HSK |
|---|---|---|---|
| 能够verb | néng gòu | to be capable of | 4 |
| 足够verb | zú gòu | enough | 5 |
| 不够verb/adverb | bù gòu | not enough | 4 |
Common Compounds
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 够呛 | gòu qiàng | unbearable |
| 够格 | gòu gé | able to pass muster |
| 够用 | gòu yòng | adequate |
| 够朋友 | gòu péng you | (coll.) to be a true friend |
| 够本 | gòu běn | to break even |
| 够戗 | gòu qiàng | variant of 夠嗆|够呛[gou4 qiang4] |
| 够不着 | gòu bu zháo | to be unable to reach |
| 够得上 | gòu de shàng | to be good enough to be regarded as |
| 够得着 | gòu de zháo | to reach (with one's hand etc) |
| 够受的 | gòu shòu de | to be quite an ordeal |
| 有够 | yǒu gòu | very |
| 巴不能够 | bā bù néng gòu | avid |
| 够意思 | gòu yì si | wonderful |
| 受够 | shòu gòu | to have had enough of |
| 够味 | gòu wèi | lit. just the right flavor |
够 appears in 18 compound words: 67 as the first character, 33 as the last, and 0 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 够 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.
Example Sentences
这些材料已经够用了，不用再买了。
Zhèxiē cáiliào yǐjīng gòu yòng le, bùyòng zài mǎi le.
These materials are already enough; no need to buy more.
中国目前有足够的勇气与条件对台湾发动战争吗?
zhōng guó mù qián yǒu zú gòu de yǒng qì yǔ tiáo jiàn duì tái wān fā dòng zhàn zhēng ma ?
Does China have enough courage and conditions to launch a war against Taiwan?
...到最高点!国家级警报狂响 交织电影音效有够共感
. . . dào zuì gāo diǎn ! guó jiā jí jǐng bào kuáng xiǎng jiāo zhī diàn yǐng yīn xiào yǒu gòu gòng gǎn
... To the highest point! The national alarm sounded wildly, and the sound effects of the intertwined movie were sympathetic enough
...演协春茗送惊喜 刘江演艺贡献获表扬:我未够资格
. . . yǎn xié chūn 茗 sòng jīng xǐ liú jiāng yǎn yì gòng xiàn huò biǎo yáng wǒ wèi gòu zī gé
... The Performing Arts Association sent a surprise Liu Jiang's acting contribution was praised: I am not qualified enough
世界百大入侵种“海蟾蜍”有够毒 草屯社区实地移除大作战
shì jiè bǎi dà rù qīn zhǒng hǎi 蟾 蜍 yǒu gòu dú cǎo tún shè qū shí dì yí chú dà zuò zhàn
The world's top 100 invasive species "sea toads" are poisonous enough to remove the Caotun community on the spot
...屋9000万易手 内地客12年惨蚀3成 够买2伙上林3房
. . . wū wàn yì shǒu nèi dì kè nián cǎn shí chéng gòu mǎi huǒ shàng lín fáng
... The house changed hands for 90 million, and mainland customers suffered a loss of 30% in 12 years, which is enough to buy 2 units and 3 bedrooms in Shanglin
一个像她那么大的小孩能够分辨是非吗？
Yī gè xiàng tā nàme dà de xiǎohái nénggòu fēnbiàn shìfēi ma?
Can a child of her age distinguish good from bad?
有足够的食物给大家吗？
Yǒu zúgòu de shíwù gěi dàjiā ma?
Is there enough food for everyone?
你确定你和汤姆有足够的水吗？
Nǐ quèdìng nǐ hé Tāngmǔ yǒu zúgòu de shuǐ ma?
Are you sure you and Tom have enough water?
你希望汤姆能够做那件事，不是吗？
Nǐ xīwàng Tāngmǔ nénggòu zuò nà jiàn shì, bùshìma?
You hope that Tom will be able to do that, don't you?
Character Family
夕 Radical Family — Characters sharing the evening radical
Frequently Asked Questions
What does 够 (gòu) mean in Chinese?
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What is the radical of 够?
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What are common words containing 够?
What characters sound the same as 够 (gòu)?
Is 够 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
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