搞

Tap the pinyin to hear it

to do; to make; to go in for; to set up; to get hold of; to take care of

Sound it out + =

Formation & memory

Break the character into parts you already know.

Phono-semantic compound (形声字)

扌 meaning “hand” + 高 sound ( gāo )

Components 扌高

engage in · Heisig RSH #1849

fingers + Eiffel Tower

Keyword method from Heisig's Remembering Simplified Hanzi.

The most common words first — learning a character in context makes it stick.

Word	Pinyin	Meaning
乱搞男女关系	luàn gǎo nán nǚ guān xì	to be promiscuous; to sleep around
恶搞文化	è gǎo wén huà	spoofing culture (Web-based genre in PRC acquiring cult status from 2005, involving humoro…
有搞头	yǒu gǎo tou	(coll.) worthwhile; likely to be fruitful
搞花样儿	gǎo huā yàng r	erhua variant of 搞花樣\|搞花样[gao3 hua1 yang4]
搞不好	gǎo bu hǎo	(coll.) maybe; perhaps
没搞头	méi gǎo tou	(coll.) not worth bothering with; pointless
搞乌龙	gǎo wū lóng	to mess sth up
搞花样	gǎo huā yàng	to play tricks; to cheat; to deceive
搞笑片	gǎo xiào piàn	comedy film; comedy; CL:部[bu4]
搞头	gǎo tou	(coll.) likelihood of being worthwhile; cf. 有搞頭\|有搞头[you3 gao3 tou5] and 沒搞頭\|没搞头[mei2 gao3 …
搞通	gǎo tōng	to make sense of sth
搞定	gǎo dìng	to fix; to settle; to wangle
搞基	gǎo jī	(slang) to engage in male homosexual practices
搞好	gǎo hǎo	to do well at; to do a good job
搞毛	gǎo máo	(dialect) what are you doing?; what the hell?
难搞	nán gǎo	hard to deal with; hard to get along with
搞活	gǎo huó	to enliven; to invigorate; to revitalize
搞钱	gǎo qián	to make money
恶搞	è gǎo	spoof (web-based genre in PRC, acquiring cult status from 2005, involving humorous, satiri…
搞鬼	gǎo guǐ	to make mischief; to play tricks

Characters sharing the sound component 高 — compare how they read.

Character	Pinyin	Meaning
高 sound part	gāo	tall, lofty; high, elevated
豪	háo	brave, heroic, chivalrous
膏	gāo	grease, fat; ointment, paste
稿	gǎo	draft, manuscript, rough copy
敲	qiāo	to hammer, to pound, to strike
镐	hào	stove; bright
蒿	hāo	mugwort, wormwood, Artemisia; to give off a scent
槁	gǎo	to wither; withered, rotten, dead
篙	gāo	a pole used to punt a boat
犒	kào	victory feast; to throw a banquet
缟	gǎo	plain white silk
暠	gǎo	daybreak; brilliant, bright