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勾搭 (gōu da) — to gang up with, to collude with (usually with negative connotations); to seduce, to carry on with (in an illicit relationship)

Definition

勾搭 means to gang up with (often for shady business) or to seduce someone illicitly. It always carries a negative, disapproving tone — don't use it for neutral cooperation.

verb
to gang up withto collude with (usually with negative connotations)to seduceto carry on with (in an illicit relationship)

Examples

  • ，勾搭。
    Tā wèi le zhuàn qián, gēn fēi fǎ shāng fàn gōu da shàng le.
    To make money, he ganged up with illegal traders.
  • 勾搭，。
    Bié gōu da yǐ hūn de rén, nà yàng huì dài lái má fan.
    Don't seduce married people; that will bring trouble.
  • 勾搭。
    Tā yīn wèi gōu da hēi bāng chéng yuán bèi jǐng chá zhuā le.
    He was arrested by the police for colluding with gang members.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

勾gōuhook
搭dājoin

勾 means hook or entangle and 搭 means join; together they suggest hooking up or colluding.

Characters in this word

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

Open 勾 →

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
扌Written in full as手shǒuhand
Sound part声符shēngfú
荅
荅dá搭dā
Same sound today

搭 is built from 扌, a hand, and 荅, which gives the sound. The hand part points to actions done with the hand.

Open 搭 →
Appears in
Romance & Marriage

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