The character 沟 — “ditch”: how to write it and what it means
ditch, trench
The Chinese character 沟 is read gōu and means “ditch, trench”. Below: the stroke order step by step, what the character is made of and the words it appears in.
Stroke order: how to write 沟
沟 has 7 strokes. At each step the new stroke is highlighted — write them in the same order: top to bottom and left to right, horizontal before vertical, a frame before what is inside it, and the bottom stroke of the frame last.
To train your hand, print a handwriting sheet for 沟, with strokes to trace and empty squares.
What 沟 is made of
On the left, 氵 “water”; on the right, 勾 gōu hints at the sound. 沟通 — “dig a channel through”, to find common ground.
The parts of a character hint at its meaning or its reading — more in the article “Chinese character radicals”.
Words with 沟
Frequently asked questions
How do you write the character 沟?
沟 has 7 strokes. They follow the usual rules: top to bottom, left to right, horizontal before vertical, outside before inside. The order of each stroke is shown on this page.
What does 沟 mean?
沟 means “ditch, trench”. It appears in 沟通 (“communicate”).
How do you pronounce 沟?
沟 is read gōu. The tone is part of the reading: with another melody it becomes another syllable.
How many strokes does 沟 have?
7 strokes.
More characters on the page “Chinese characters with meanings” and in the list of HSK characters by level; whole words are in the dictionary.
Write 沟 yourself
In the lessons you write characters stroke by stroke with a finger or a mouse, and the course checks the order. You can start for free, no sign-up needed.
Start for free