鼓

皷
gǔ
#1,121 most
frequent character
drum, beat, rouse, bulging
noun
verb

Character breakdown

Source: Make Me a Hanzi.

鼓 shows a drum 壴 with 支, a hand holding a stick to strike it. 壴 also marks the sound. Its first meaning was 'drum,' which grew to 'to drum up, arouse.'

Drawn as: drum and striking hand

鼓 as a component in other characters

meaning1 character
鼗
sound3 characters
鼙瞽臌

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Example Sentences

他在音乐会上打鼓。
tāzài yīnyuè huì shàng dǎgǔ 。
He plays the drum at the concert.
这个鼓的声音很大。
zhègè gǔ de shēngyīn hěndà 。
The sound of this drum is very loud.
他鼓励我去追求我的梦想。
tā gǔlì wǒqù zhuīqiú wǒde mèngxiǎng 。
He encourages me to pursue my dreams.

Same Characters, Different Readings

鼓gǔ
drum, beat, rouse, bulging

Words with similar meanings

击jī
to strike
A more general term for hitting or striking, often used in a musical context.
敲qiāo
to knock
Refers specifically to hitting an object (like a drum) with a tool or hand, typically with a rhythmic motion.

Homophones

古gǔ
ancient, old
鼓gǔ
drum, beat, rouse, bulging
股gǔ
thigh, portion, share, strand
谷gǔ
grain, corn
谷gǔ
valley
骨gǔ
bone

Words Starting With 鼓

鼓励gǔ lì
to encourage
鼓掌gǔ zhǎng
to applaud; to clap
鼓舞gǔ wǔ
heartening (news); boost (morale)
鼓动gǔ dòng
to agitate; to arouse; to instigate; to encite

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