苟

Tap the pinyin to hear it

(literary) if indeed; (bound form) careless; negligent; (bound form) temporarily

Sound it out + =

Formation & memory

Break the character into parts you already know.

Phono-semantic compound (形声字)

艹 meaning “wild grass” + 句 sound ( jù )

Components 艹句

careless · Heisig RSH #1581

flower + 句 sentence

Keyword method from Heisig's Remembering Simplified Hanzi.

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

Word	Pinyin	Meaning
一笔不苟	yī bǐ bù gǒu	lit. not even one stroke is negligent (idiom); fig. to write characters (calligraphy) in w…
一丝不苟	yī sī bù gǒu	not one thread loose (idiom); strictly according to the rules; meticulous; not one hair ou…
苟富贵，勿相忘	gǒu fù guì , wù xiāng wàng	don't forget your friends when you become rich
不敢苟同	bù gǎn gǒu tóng	to beg to differ (idiom)
不苟	bù gǒu	not lax; not casual; careful; conscientious
苟安	gǒu ān	see 苟且偷安[gou3 qie3 tou1 an1]
苟合	gǒu hé	illicit sexual relations
苟同	gǒu tóng	to agree blindly
未敢苟同	wèi gǎn gǒu tóng	can't agree with
苟活	gǒu huó	to live without dignity; to barely sustain oneself
苟且偷生	gǒu qiě tōu shēng	to drift and live without purpose (idiom); to drag out an ignoble existence
苟且偷安	gǒu qiě tōu ān	seeking only ease and comfort (idiom); making no attempt to improve oneself; taking things…
苟取	gǒu qǔ	(literary) to extort; to take as bribe
狗苟蝇营	gǒu gǒu yíng yíng	see 蠅營狗苟\|蝇营狗苟[ying2 ying2 gou3 gou3]
蝇营狗苟	yíng yíng gǒu gǒu	(lit.) to swarm like flies around rotten food and drag out an ignoble existence like a dog…
苟存	gǒu cún	to drift through life
苟延残喘	gǒu yán cán chuǎn	(idiom) to struggle on whilst at death's door
苟且	gǒu qiě	perfunctory; careless; drifting along; resigned to one's fate; improper (relations); illic…

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

Character	Pinyin	Meaning
句 sound part	jù	sentence, clause, phrase, paragraph; stanza
狗	gǒu	dog
鸲	qú	mynah; Erithacus species (various)
拘	jū	to detain, to restrain, to seize
够	gòu	enough, adequate; to reach, to attain; to pass muster
枸	gōu	a kind of aspen found in Sichuan
驹	jū	colt; fleet, swift; surname
朐	qú	warm
昫	xù	warm
鼩	qú	shrew
劬	qú	diligent; to toil, to endeavor
岣	gǒu	a hill in Hunan
笱	gǒu	a basket trap for fish