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故

Mandarin · pinyin gù

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故: gù · ancient, old; reason, because

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

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Mandarin tones

4 · gu4

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1character link27same-tone records

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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.

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Rime Cantonese 粵拼

gu3

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

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Wiktionary English definitions · Chinese section

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

character · Etymology 1

old; of the past
cause; reason
accident; misfortune; unexpected event
past things; antiquity
old friend; good friend; close friend
to die; to pass away
deceased; dead
formerly; originally
intentionally; deliberately
still; as before
therefore; so

character · Etymology 2

(Cantonese) alternative form of 古 (gu², “story”)

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

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