Definition
鼓 (gǔ) as a verb literally means 'to beat a drum', but also 'to rouse/muster' (e.g., 鼓起勇气 'muster courage') and 'to bulge/swell' (e.g., face swelling). For 'rouse', 鼓 is used in set phrases, while 唤醒/唤起 are broader 'awaken'. For 'swell', 鼓 is for body parts bulging; 涨/胀 are for volume expansion (prices, stomach) and 肿 is for injury swelling.
noun
drum
verb
to beat (a drum)to drumto rouseto musterto bulgeto swell
Measure word · 通, 面
Easily confused
- 枝zhīlook-alike(noun) branch
- 雇gùsound-aliketo hire, to employ
- 古gǔsound-alikeancient; old (from the distant past)
- 股gǔsound-alike(classifier) for long winding things (rope, river, strand)
- 顾gùsound-aliketo take into consideration, to attend to (often used with 不 or 只)
- 故gùsound-aliketherefore, hence, so
Examples
- 鼓。Tā mǎi le yí miàn gǔ.He bought a drum.
- 鼓。Tā gǔ qǐ yǒngqì cānjiā le bǐsài.He mustered up the courage to participate in the competition.
- 鼓。Tā de liǎn gǔ qǐlái le.His face swelled up.
Browse more HSK 5 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.