鼓

gǔ
#1,121 most
frequent character
drum, beat, rouse, bulging
noun
verb
Measure words:通 tòng,面 miàn

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

Ask DeepSeek

Example Sentences

我想学习打鼓。
wǒxiǎng xuéxí dǎgǔ 。
I want to learn to play the drum.
他在鼓励我继续努力。
tāzài gǔlì wǒ jìxù nǔlì 。
He is encouraging me to keep working hard.
我们要在节日中敲响大鼓。
wǒmen yào zài jiérì zhōng qiāo xiǎng dàgǔ 。
We will strike the big drum during the festival.

Same Characters, Different Readings

鼓gǔ
drum, beat, rouse, bulging

Words with similar meanings

乐器yuèqì
musical instrument
This term refers to any instrument used to make music, while '鼓' specifically denotes a drum.

Homophones

古gǔ
ancient, old
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

Your word lists

Sign in to add this word to your private lists.