鼓

Tap the pinyin to hear it

drum; CL:通[tong4],面[mian4]; to drum; to strike; to rouse; to bulge; to swell

Sound it out + =

Formation & memory

Break the character into parts you already know.

Phono-semantic compound (形声字)

壴 meaning “drum” + 支 sound ( zhī )

Components 壴支

drum · Heisig RSH #1134

branch + drum

Keyword method from Heisig's Remembering Simplified Hanzi.

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

Word	Pinyin	Meaning
水力鼓风	shuǐ lì gǔ fēng	hydraulic bellows; water-driven ventilation (for metal smelting furnace)
一鼓作气	yī gǔ zuò qì	in a spurt of energy
鼓山区	Gǔ shān qū	Gushan or Kushan district of Kaohsiung city 高雄市[Gao1 xiong2 shi4], south Taiwan
石鼓区	Shí gǔ Qū	Shigu, a district of Hengyang City 衡陽市\|衡阳市[Heng2 yang2 Shi4], Hunan
鼓风机	gǔ fēng jī	bellows; ventilator; air blower
鼓点子	gǔ diǎn zi	drumbeat; drum rhythm; drumming pattern
石鼓文	shí gǔ wén	early form of Chinese characters inscribed in stone, a precursor of the small seal 小篆[xiao…
定音鼓	dìng yīn gǔ	timpani
河鼓二	Hé gǔ èr	Altair (star)
落地鼓	luò dì gǔ	floor tom (drum kit component)
鼓打贝斯	gǔ dǎ bèi sī	drum and bass (music genre)
打边鼓	dǎ biān gǔ	to echo what sb said; to back sb up from the sidelines (in an argument)
击鼓传花	jī gǔ chuán huā	beat the drum, pass the flower (game in which players sit in a circle passing a flower aro…
大鼓	dà gǔ	bass drum
鼓山	Gǔ shān	Gushan or Kushan district of Kaohsiung city 高雄市[Gao1 xiong2 shi4], south Taiwan
小鼓	xiǎo gǔ	snare drum
鼓动	gǔ dòng	to urge (an activity that may be beneficial, harmful or neutral); to encourage; to agitate…
花鼓	huā gǔ	flower drum, a type of double-skinned Chinese drum; folk dance popular in provinces around…
鼓手	gǔ shǒu	drummer
鼓气	gǔ qì	to puff up; to swell up; to inflate; to blow air into sth; (fig.) to encourage; to support

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

Character	Pinyin	Meaning
支 sound part	zhī	to support, to sustain; to withdraw, to pay; a branch (of a bank)
技	jì	ability, talent; skill, technique
翅	chì	wings; fins
枝	zhī	branches, limbs; to branch off
肢	zhī	limbs
歧	qí	to diverge, to fork; a branch; a side road
跂	qí	to creep, to crawl
吱	zhī	to chirp; to hiss; to squeak
岐	qí	to diverge, to branch; the name of a mountain
豉	chǐ	fermented beans
忮	zhì	stubborn; perverse; aggressive
庋	guǐ	cupboard, pantry
芰	jì	water caltrop