故
gù
Pinyin

Definition

故
 - 
gù
  1. happening
  2. instance
  3. reason
  4. cause
  5. intentional
  6. former
  7. old
  8. friend
  9. therefore
  10. hence
  11. (of people) to die, dead

Character Decomposition

Related Words (20)

故事
gù shì
  1. 1 old practice
  2. 2 CL:個|个[gè]
一见如故
yī jiàn rú gù
  1. 1 familiarity at first sight
世故
shì gù
  1. 1 the ways of the world
事故
shì gù
  1. 1 accident
  2. 2 CL:樁|桩[zhuāng],起[qǐ],次[cì]
故
gù
  1. 1 happening
  2. 2 instance
  3. 3 reason
  4. 4 cause
  5. 5 intentional
  6. 6 former
  7. 7 old
  8. 8 friend
  9. 9 therefore
  10. 10 hence
  11. 11 (of people) to die, dead
故人
gù rén
  1. 1 old friend
  2. 2 the deceased
故作
gù zuò
  1. 1 to pretend
  2. 2 to feign
故宫
Gù gōng
  1. 1 the Forbidden City
  2. 2 abbr. for 故宮博物院|故宫博物院[Gù gōng Bó wù yuàn]
故居
gù jū
  1. 1 former residence
故意
gù yì
  1. 1 deliberately
  2. 2 on purpose
故乡
gù xiāng
  1. 1 home
  2. 2 homeland
  3. 3 native place
  4. 4 CL:個|个[gè]
故障
gù zhàng
  1. 1 malfunction
  2. 2 breakdown
  3. 3 defect
  4. 4 shortcoming
  5. 5 fault
  6. 6 failure
  7. 7 impediment
  8. 8 error
  9. 9 bug (in software)
无缘无故
wú yuán wú gù
  1. 1 no cause, no reason (idiom); completely uncalled for
缘故
yuán gù
  1. 1 reason
  2. 2 cause
亡故
wáng gù
  1. 1 to die
  2. 2 to pass away
人情世故
rén qíng shì gù
  1. 1 worldly wisdom
  2. 2 the ways of the world
  3. 3 to know how to get on in the world
何故
hé gù
  1. 1 what for?
  2. 2 what's the reason?
借故
jiè gù
  1. 1 to find an excuse
典故
diǎn gù
  1. 1 classical story or quote from the literature
原故
yuán gù
  1. 1 variant of 緣故|缘故[yuán gù]

Idioms (19)

一改故辙
yī gǎi gù zhé
  1. 1 complete change from the old rut (idiom); dramatic change of direction
  2. 2 a volte-face
  3. 3 to change old practices
他乡遇故知
tā xiāng yù gù zhī
  1. 1 meeting an old friend in a foreign place (idiom)
依然如故
yī rán rú gù
  1. 1 back to where we were (idiom); absolutely no improvement
  2. 2 Things haven't changed at all.
依然故我
yī rán gù wǒ
  1. 1 to be one's old self (idiom)
  2. 2 to be unchanged
  3. 3 (derog.) to be stuck in one's ways
吐故纳新
tǔ gù nà xīn
  1. 1 lit. to breathe out stale air and breathe in fresh (idiom, from Zhuangzi 庄子); fig. to get rid of the old and bring in the new
攀亲道故
pān qīn dào gù
  1. 1 to use claims to kinship or friendship to climb socially (idiom)
故地重游
gù dì chóng yóu
  1. 1 to revisit old haunts (idiom); down memory lane
故步自封
gù bù zì fēng
  1. 1 stuck in the old ways (idiom); refusing to acknowledge new ideas
  2. 2 stagnating and conservative
明知故犯
míng zhī gù fàn
  1. 1 deliberate violation (idiom); intentional crime
温故知新
wēn gù zhī xīn
  1. 1 to review the old and know the new (idiom, from the Analects)
  2. 2 to recall the past to understand the future
温故而知新
wēn gù ér zhī xīn
  1. 1 to review the old and know the new (idiom, from the Analects)
  2. 2 to recall the past to understand the future
无缘无故
wú yuán wú gù
  1. 1 no cause, no reason (idiom); completely uncalled for
狂奴故态
kuáng nú gù tài
  1. 1 to be set in one's ways (idiom)
羌无故实
qiāng wú gù shí
  1. 1 to have no basis in fact (idiom)
老于世故
lǎo yú shì gù
  1. 1 experienced in the ways of the world (idiom); worldly-wise
  2. 2 sophisticated
蹈常袭故
dǎo cháng xí gù
  1. 1 follow the same old path (idiom); stuck in a rut
  2. 2 always the same routine
钻故纸堆
zuān gù zhǐ duī
  1. 1 to dig into piles of outdated writings (idiom); to study old books and papers
非亲非故
fēi qīn fēi gù
  1. 1 lit. neither a relative nor a friend (idiom)
  2. 2 fig. unrelated to one another in any way
革故鼎新
gé gù dǐng xīn
  1. 1 to discard the old and introduce the new (idiom); to innovate

Sample Sentences

故善用兵者，屈人之兵而非战也，拔人之城而非攻也，毁人之国而非久也，必以全争于天下。
gù shànyòng bīng zhě ，qū rén zhī bīng ér Fēi zhàn yě ，bá rén zhī chéng ér fēi gōng yě ，huǐ rén zhī guó ér Fēi jiǔ yě ，bì yǐ quán zhēng yú tiānxià 。
Well use of the army is to defeat the enemy and take down the city without going into battle. Complete destruction of the enemy’s country is not a long term solution rather to seek a comprehensive solution.
Go to Lesson 
故兵不顿而利可全，此谋攻之法也。
gù bīng bù dùn ér lì kě quán ，cǐ móugōng zhī fǎ yě 。
The tactic of army use is to ensure it is not exhausted.
Go to Lesson 
故用兵之法，十则围之，五则攻之，倍则分之，敌则能战之，少则能逃之，不若则能避之。
gù yòngbīng zhī fǎ ，shí zé wéi zhī ，wǔ zé gōng zhī ，bèi zé fēn zhī ，dí zé néng zhàn zhī ，shǎo zé néng táo zhī ，bùruò zé néng bì zhī 。
How to use the army, surround the enemy if your army is 10X theirs, attack if your army is 5X, divide and conquer if 2X, defensive attack if on par and retreat and escape if the enemy is stronger.
Go to Lesson 
故小敌之坚，大敌之擒也。
gù xiǎodí zhī jiān ，dàdí zhī qín yě 。
If you persist to fight a stronger enemy you’ll lose terribly.
Go to Lesson 
是故百战百胜，非善之善者也；不战而屈人之兵，善之善者也。
shìgù bǎizhànbǎishèng ，fēi shànzhīshàn zhě yě ；bùzhàn ér qū rén zhī bīng ，shànzhīshàn zhě yě 。
Winning every war is not the best solution but not warring yet able to make your enemy surrender is the best way.
Go to Lesson 
故知兵之将民之司命，国家安危之主也。
gù zhī bīng zhī jiàng Mín zhī sī mìng ，guójiā ānwēi zhī zhǔ yě 。
A general who values the lives of his soldiers and citizens have the country’s interest as his priority.
Go to Lesson 
故兵贵胜，不贵久。
gù bīng guì shèng ，bù guì jiǔ 。
A swift win to a war is key.
Go to Lesson 
善用兵者，役不再籍，粮不三载；取用于国，因粮于敌，故军食可足也。
shàn yòngbīng zhě ，yì bùzài jí ，liáng bù sǎnzài ；qǔ yòngyú guó ，yīn liáng yú dí ，gù jūnshí kě zú yě 。
Know how to use the army without having to add more soldiers and food; arrange for the transportation of food and necessities once and seize these from the enemy to save our own inventory.
Go to Lesson 
故经之以五事，校之以计而索其情：
gù jīng zhī yǐ wǔshì ，jiào zhī yǐ jì ér suǒ qí qíng ：
Analyze and consider 5 important events or issues and compare the situations to understand what is happening
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我觉得这个故事很好，可惜电影太短，应该很多细节都被砍了，不够过瘾，我想读读原著。
wǒ juéde zhège gùshi hěn hǎo ，kěxī diànyǐng tài duǎn ，yīnggāi hěnduō xìjié dōu bèi kǎn le ，bùgòu guòyǐn ，wǒ xiǎng dú dú yuánzhù 。
I think it’s great story but a pity the movie was too short with a lot of details probably cut away. I want to read the original novel as watching it wasn’t gratifying enough.
Go to Lesson