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挂钩 (guà gōu) — (verb) to link, to couple, to connect (one thing to another, especially in economic or policy contexts); (verb) to establish contact with (a person or organization); (noun) hook, peg (for hanging things)

Definition

As a verb, it means to formally tie or link two things together (e.g. bonuses to performance) — a more official, structural 'link' than the loose bond expressed by 纽带. As a noun, it simply means a hook or peg for hanging things.

verb
to linkto coupleto connect (one thing to another, especially in economic or policy contexts)to establish contact with (a person or organization)
noun
hookpeg (for hanging things)
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • 挂钩。
    Tā men bǎ liǎng jié huǒ chē chē xiāng guà gōu qǐ lái le.
    They hooked the two train cars together.
  • 挂钩。
    Gōng sī jiāng jiǎng jīn yǔ yuán gōng jì xiào guà gōu.
    The company links bonuses to employee performance.
  • 挂钩，。
    Mén shàng zhuāng le yí gè guà gōu, fāng biàn guà yào shi.
    A hook was installed on the door to conveniently hang keys.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

An action followed by what it acts on, fused into one word.

挂guàhang
钩gōuhook

挂 means 'hang' and 钩 means 'hook'; the literal sense is hanging a hook, extended to linking things together.

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.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 掛; 挂 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
⺘Written in full as手shǒuhand
Sound part声符shēngfú
卦
卦guà掛guà
Same sound today

In the traditional form 掛, the hand part ⺘ and the sound part 卦 show hooking or hanging something with the hand; this form was originally a popular form of 挂.

Open 挂 →

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

Open 钩 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9

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