沟 (gōu): ditch, gutter, groove
沟 (gōu) is a Chinese character meaning “ditch.” Classified as HSK Level 5 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of 氵 (semantic) and 勾 (phonetic). It ranks #1599 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).
Etymologically derived, 沟 water. Its radical form 氵 (water) appears in many related characters such as 水 (shuǐ, water), 汉 (hàn, Han ethnic group), 汽 (qì, steam).
Definitions
- ditch
- gutter
- groove
Etymology & Origin
Stroke Order
Practice writing 沟 with real-time feedback — trace each stroke in the correct order and build muscle memory in the HanziFeed app.
Words & Compounds
HSK Vocabulary with 沟
Common Compounds
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 水沟 | shuǐ gōu | gutter |
| 阴沟 | yīn gōu | sewer |
| 腹股沟 | fù gǔ gōu | groin (anatomy) |
| 排水沟 | pái shuǐ gōu | gutter |
| 壕沟 | háo gōu | trench |
| 沟渠 | gōu qú | channel |
| 代沟 | dài gōu | generation gap |
| 鸿沟 | hóng gōu | (fig.) gulf |
| 海沟 | hǎi gōu | marine trench |
| 山沟 | shān gōu | valley |
| 沟槽 | gōu cáo | groove |
| 沟壑 | gōu hè | gorge |
| 河沟 | hé gōu | brook |
| 垄沟 | lǒng gōu | furrow (agriculture) |
| 门头沟区 | mén tóu gōu qū | Mentougou, a district of Beijing |
沟 appears in 58 compound words: 12 as the first character, 64 as the last, and 24 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 沟 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.
Example Sentences
清晨的沟面波光粼粼,倒映着岸边的柳树。
qīng chén de gōu miàn bō guāng 粼 粼 , dǎo yìng zhe àn biān de liǔ shù .
The early morning stream glistened with ripples, reflecting the willow trees along the shore.
女生聊天喜欢插嘴巴的原因,从沟通角度分析
nǚ shēng liáo tiān xǐ huān chā zuǐ bā de yuán yīn , cóng gōu tōng jiǎo dù fēn xī
The reasons why girls like to interject in chat are analyzed from a communication perspective
...万安推3大新政挨批仓促上路 绿议员叹欠缺沟通:别把好事给做坏
. . . wàn ān tuī 3 dà xīn zhèng āi pī cāng cù shàng lù lǜ yì yuán tàn qiàn quē gōu tōng : bié bǎ hǎo shì gěi zuò huài
... Wan'an pushed 3 new policies and was criticized for rushing on the road, and the green lawmaker lamented the lack of communication: Don't do good things badly
...访美 杨琼璎赞“自动补位”:搭建更稳固的沟通桥梁
. . . fǎng měi yáng 琼 璎 zàn zì dòng bǔ wèi : dā jiàn gēng wěn gù de gōu tōng qiáo liáng
... Visit to the United States Yang Qiongying praised "automatic filling": building a more stable communication bridge
外交部:中美双方就特朗普访华事宜保持沟通
wài jiāo bù : zhōng měi shuāng fāng jiù tè lǎng pǔ fǎng huá shì yí bǎo chí gōu tōng
Ministry of Foreign Affairs: China and the United States maintain communication on Trump's visit to China
台东男情绪不稳坐初来桥边护栏 警耐心沟通趁隙拉回桥面
tái dōng nán qíng xù bù wěn zuò chū lái qiáo biān hù lán jǐng nài xīn gōu tōng chèn xì lā huí qiáo miàn
Taitung man was emotionally unstable, sitting on the guardrail of the bridge when he first came, and the police patiently communicated and took advantage of the opportunity to pull back to the bridge deck
您能用英语沟通您想要说的话吗?
Nín néng yòng Yīngyǔ gōutōng nín xiǎngyào shuō dehuà ma?
Can you communicate in English what you want to say?
以前人们以为只有人类才懂得用语言沟通。
Yǐqián rénmen yǐwéi zhǐ yǒurén lèi cái dǒngde yòngyǔ yán gōutōng.
People used to think that only humans could use language.
飞行员用无线电与机场沟通。
Fēixíngyuán yòng wúxiàndiàn yǔ jīchǎng gōutōng.
Pilots communicate with the airport by radio.
英语是一种沟通的手段。
Yīngyǔ shì yīzhǒng gōutōng de shǒuduàn.
English is a means of communication.
Character Family
Frequently Asked Questions
What does 沟 (gōu) mean in Chinese?
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What is the radical of 沟?
What are the components of 沟?
What are common words containing 沟?
What characters sound the same as 沟 (gōu)?
Is 沟 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
Practice writing 沟 with real-time feedback
Trace stroke sequences, hear native pronunciation, and build lasting retention with spaced repetition in the HanziFeed app.