DICTIONARY · CC-CEDICT

苟

Mandarin · pinyin gǒu#

(literary) if indeed
(bound form) careless; negligent
(bound form) temporarily

Mandarin · pinyin Gǒu#

surname Gou

Full entryShow on map

Characters in this entry

苟: gǒu · careless, frivolous; illicit; grammatical particle: if, but, if only; surname; grass name

Written characters and their own readings; the entry’s pronunciation is shown above.

Explore the spelling

Mandarin tones

3 · gou3

Compare attested words with these syllables ↗

Dictionary tones. Connected speech can change their realization.

Connected dictionary

1character link14same-tone records

Explore word families ↗Compare pronunciations ↗Open character structure ↗

Counts describe dictionary records, not word frequency or semantic similarity. Source identities stay separate.

Read this spelling in Classical texts

Follow a written form into the eight pinned witnesses: Analects, Mencius, Laozi, Zhuangzi, Xunzi, Han Feizi, Sunzi and the Mao Shijing. A match is a place to investigate; it does not prove that a modern dictionary sense fits the passage.

苟 · find source passages ↗

Explore Classical grammar ↗

Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 6 senses · 2 Cantonese readings

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

gau2 · gik1

Cantonese word readings for 苟. This lexicon supplies readings, not definitions.

CanCLID contributors · CC BY 4.0 · source & license · Data pack

Wiktionary English definitions · Chinese section

Independent source senses for this spelling, with usage labels retained. Not matched to the pronunciation above.

character · Etymology 1

careless; casual; indifferent
casually; carelessly
tentatively; for the time being
(literary) if only; if; as long as
(obsolete on its own in Standard Chinese) a type of grass
a surname

Source page · dump 2026-09-02 · Contributors & history

Wiktionary contributors · CC BY-SA 4.0 · source & license · Data pack