告 gào to tell
inform; to tell; to sue
How to remember 告: 𠂒 calf + 口 mouth = to tell. The farmer's daughter watches the newborn calf open its mouth and moo loudly, as if it had news to tell the whole farm.
Component breakdown
告 = 𠂒 calf + 口 mouth
- 𠂒 calf
- 口 mouth
The farmer's daughter watches the newborn calf open its mouth and moo loudly, as if it had news to tell the whole farm.
How it came to be
An ox drawn over a mouth. An ox is what gets announced, a sacrifice being declared, and the mouth underneath is the declaring. It is a formal telling, not a chat.
How it is used
- "To tell/inform" - 告诉 (gàosu) tell (someone something): 告诉我 (gàosu wǒ) tell me. Note the neutral tone on 诉.
- Formal senses: 报告 (bàogào) report, 广告 (guǎnggào) advertisement, 告别 (gàobié) bid farewell. The legal sense "accuse/sue" shows in 原告 (yuángào) plaintiff.
Characters built with 告
Words with 告
- 告诉gàosuto tellHSK 2
- 广告guǎnggàoadvertisementHSK 4
- 告别gàobiéto leaveHSK 5
- 报告bàogàoto informHSK 5
- 转告zhuǎngàoto pass onHSK 5
- 公告gōnggàopostHSK 6
- 警告jǐnggàoto warnHSK 6
- 原告yuángàocomplainantHSK 7
- 告知gàozhīto informHSK 7
- 告示gàoshiannouncementHSK 7
- 被告bèigàothe defendantHSK 7
- 通告tōnggàoto announceHSK 7
- 预告yùgàoto forecastHSK 7
- 劝告quàngàoto adviseHSK 8
- 告状gàozhuàngto tell on somebodyHSK 8
- 告诫gàojièto warnHSK 8
- 告辞gàocíto say goodbyeHSK 8
- 宣告xuāngàoto declareHSK 8
- 忠告zhōnggàoto give somebody a word of adviceHSK 8
- 控告kònggàoto accuseHSK 8
Example sentences
- 请告诉我答案。 Qǐng gàosu wǒ dá'àn.Please tell me the answer.
- 我们在报纸上登了广告。 Wǒmen zài bàozhǐ shang dēngle guǎnggào.We placed an advertisement in the newspaper.