咕噜 (gū lū) — (onomatopoeia) rumble, gurgle (sound of stomach, water, or throat)

Definition

Onomatopoeia for a low rolling rumble — a stomach growling, water gurgling, or distant thunder. Reduplicated as 咕噜咕噜 to mimic the ongoing sound.

onomatopoeia
rumblegurgle (sound of stomach, water, or throat)

Examples

  • 咕噜咕噜。
    Wǒ de dù zi è dé gū lū gū lū jiào.
    My stomach is growling with hunger.
  • 咕噜咕噜。
    Shuǐ hú lǐ de shuǐ gū lū gū lū dì xiǎng le qǐ lái.
    The water in the kettle started gurgling.
  • 咕噜，。
    Yuǎn chù chuán lái yí zhèn gū lū shēng, xiàng shì dǎ léi.
    A rumbling sound came from afar, like thunder.

Origin

Characters in this word

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
口口kǒumouth
Sound part声符shēngfú
古
古gǔ咕gū
Same sound today

咕 combines 口 (mouth) with 古, which provides the sound. The 口 part points to mouth sounds, such as clucking or cooing.

Open 咕 →

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 嚕; 噜 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
口口kǒumouth
Sound part声符shēngfú
魯
魯lǔ嚕
Same sound today

The traditional form 嚕 has 口, a mouth, beside 魯, which gives the sound; the simplified 噜 is a later shorthand.

Open 噜 →

Browse more HSK 7-9 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.