苟 (gǒu) — (bound form) careless, negligent (in 不苟言笑, 苟且); (literary, bound form) if
Definition
Classical Chinese "if" (gǒu, in formal/written conditionals like 苟能…). The other sense — "careless, negligent" — lives only in set phrases such as 苟且 and 不苟言笑; never used alone today.
bound form
carelessnegligent (in 不苟言笑, 苟且)(literary, bound form) if
Examples
- 苟。Zuò shì bù néng gǒu qiě.You cannot be careless in doing things.
- 。Tā zài zhèng shì chǎng hé zǒng shì bù gǒu yán xiào.He is always reserved and serious in formal occasions.
- 苟，。gǒu Néng nǔ lì, bì yǒu shōu huò.If one can work hard, there will surely be gains.
Origin
Sound + meaning六书liùshū
形声xíngshēngMost 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
艹Written in full as艸cǎo
The top 艹 in 苟 relates to plants, and the bottom 句 gives the pronunciation. The original sense was a kind of grass.
Appears in
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