苟

See also: 茍

苟 U+82DF, 苟 CJK UNIFIED IDEOGRAPH-82DF ← 苞 [U+82DE] CJK Unified Ideographs 苠 → [U+82E0]

Translingual

Han character

苟 (Kangxi radical 140, 艸+5, 8 strokes, cangjie input 廿心口 (TPR), four-corner 4462₇, composition ⿱艹句)

Usage notes

This character is not to be confused with 茍, which contains ⻀ instead of 艹.

Derived characters

• 㺃 㻤 𠸚 𫽚 𣕉 𧛩 𨩦 𮏆 𥰄 𦴳
• 敬 (Exception: Only for Mainland China, Japan, Korea, and Vietnam character. Taiwan and Hong Kong character contain 茍 instead.)

References

• Kangxi Dictionary: page 1023, character 5
• Dai Kanwa Jiten: character 30790
• Dae Jaweon: page 1482, character 5
• Hanyu Da Zidian (first edition): volume 5, page 3194, character 12
• Unihan data for U+82DF

Chinese

trad.		苟
simp. #		苟
alternative forms		芶 𠷜 𦯗 𦴆 𦴳

Glyph origin

Historical forms of the character 苟
Western Zhou	Shuowen Jiezi (compiled in Han)	Liushutong (compiled in Ming)
Bronze inscriptions	Small seal script	Transcribed ancient scripts

Characters in the same phonetic series (句) (Zhengzhang, 2003) 

	Old Chinese
勾	*koː, *koːs
鉤	*koː
鴝	*koː, *ɡo
句	*koː, *koːs, *kos, *ɡo
夠	*koː, *koːs, *kʰoː
枸	*koː, *koːʔ, *koʔ
軥	*koː, *koːs, *ɡo
狗	*koːʔ
苟	*koːʔ
岣	*koːʔ, *ko
笱	*koːʔ
玽	*koːʔ
耇	*koːʔ
豿	*koːʔ, *qʰroːɡ
敂	*koːʔ
怐	*koːs, *kʰoːs, *qʰoːs, *kos
雊	*koːs
竘	*kʰoːʔ, *kʰoʔ
齁	*qʰoː
呴	*qʰoːʔ, *qʰos
蚼	*qʰoːʔ, *ɡo
豞	*qʰoːs
訽	*qʰoːs, *ɡoːs
佝	*qʰoːs
拘	*ko
駒	*ko
眗	*ko
跔	*ko
鮈	*ko
痀	*ko
蒟	*koʔ, *kos
絇	*kos, *ɡo
邭	*kos
劬	*ɡo
朐	*ɡo
鼩	*ɡo
斪	*ɡo
翑	*ɡo
葋	*ɡo
姁	*ɡo, *qʰo, *qʰoʔ, *qʰos
欨	*qʰo, *qʰoʔ
喣	*qʰoʔ
煦	*qʰoʔ, *qʰos
昫	*qʰos

Phono-semantic compound (形聲 / 形声, OC *koːʔ): semantic 艹 + phonetic 句 (OC *koː, *koːs, *kos, *ɡo) – a kind of grass, in original sense.

Etymology 1

Pronunciation

• Mandarin

  (Standard)

  (Pinyin): gǒu (gou³)

  (Zhuyin): ㄍㄡˇ

  (Chengdu, Sichuanese Pinyin): gou⁴ / gou³

• Cantonese

  (Guangzhou–Hong Kong, Jyutping): gau²

  (Taishan, Wiktionary): geu²

• Hakka

  (Sixian, PFS): kiéu

  (Meixian, Guangdong): gêu³

• Northern Min (KCR): gě
• Eastern Min (BUC): gēu
• Southern Min

  (Hokkien, POJ): kió / kó͘

  (Teochew, Peng'im): gou²

---

• Mandarin
  • (Standard Chinese)⁺
    • Hanyu Pinyin: gǒu
    • Zhuyin: ㄍㄡˇ
    • Tongyong Pinyin: gǒu
    • Wade–Giles: kou³
    • Yale: gǒu
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: goou
    • Palladius: гоу (gou)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /koʊ̯²¹⁴/
  • (Chengdu)
    • Sichuanese Pinyin: gou⁴ / gou³
    • Scuanxua Ladinxua Xin Wenz: gou / gou
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /kəu²¹³/, /kəu⁵³/
• Cantonese
  • (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)
    • Jyutping: gau²
    • Yale: gáu
    • Cantonese Pinyin: gau²
    • Guangdong Romanization: geo²
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /kɐu̯³⁵/
  • (Taishanese, Taicheng)
    • Wiktionary: geu²
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /keu⁵⁵/
• Hakka
  • (Sixian, incl. Miaoli and Neipu)
    • Pha̍k-fa-sṳ: kiéu
    • Hakka Romanization System: gieu^ˋ
    • Hagfa Pinyim: gieu³
    • Sinological IPA: /ki̯eu̯³¹/
  • (Meixian)
    • Guangdong: gêu³
    • Sinological IPA: /keu³¹/
• Northern Min
  • (Jian'ou)
    • Kienning Colloquial Romanized: gě
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /ke²¹/
• Eastern Min
  • (Fuzhou)
    • Bàng-uâ-cê: gēu
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /kɛu³³/
• Southern Min
  • (Hokkien: Quanzhou)
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: kió
    • Tâi-lô: kió
    • Phofsit Daibuun: kioir
    • IPA (Quanzhou): /kio⁵⁵⁴/
  • (Hokkien: General Taiwanese, Xiamen, Zhangzhou)
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: kó͘
    • Tâi-lô: kóo
    • Phofsit Daibuun: kor
    • IPA (Taipei, Xiamen, Zhangzhou): /kɔ⁵³/
    • IPA (Kaohsiung): /kɔ⁴¹/
  • (Teochew)
    • Peng'im: gou²
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī-like: kóu
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /kou⁵²/

---

• Middle Chinese: kuwX

Rime
Character	苟
Reading #	1/1
Initial (聲)	見 (28)
Final (韻)	侯 (137)
Tone (調)	Rising (X)
Openness (開合)	Open
Division (等)	I
Fanqie	古厚切
Baxter	kuwX
Reconstructions
Zhengzhang Shangfang	/kəuX/
Pan Wuyun	/kəuX/
Shao Rongfen	/kəuX/
Edwin Pulleyblank	/kəwX/
Li Rong	/kuX/
Wang Li	/kəuX/
Bernhard Karlgren	/kə̯uX/
Expected Mandarin Reflex	gǒu
Expected Cantonese Reflex	gau2

• Old Chinese

  (Baxter–Sagart): /*[k]ˤ(r)oʔ/

  (Zhengzhang): /*koːʔ/

Baxter–Sagart system 1.1 (2014)
Character	苟
Reading #	1/1
Modern Beijing (Pinyin)	gǒu
Middle Chinese	‹ kuwX ›
Old Chinese	/*[k]ˁ(r)oʔ/
English	if really
Notes for Old Chinese notations in the Baxter–Sagart system: * Parentheses "()" indicate uncertain presence; * Square brackets "[]" indicate uncertain identity, e.g. *[t] as coda may in fact be *-t or *-p; * Angle brackets "<>" indicate infix; * Hyphen "-" indicates morpheme boundary; * Period "." indicates syllable boundary.

Zhengzhang system (2003)
Character	苟
Reading #	1/1
No.	7069
Phonetic component	句
Rime group	侯
Rime subdivision	0
Corresponding MC rime	苟
Old Chinese	/*koːʔ/

Definitions

苟

1. careless; casual; indifferent

   一絲不苟／一丝不苟  ―  yīsībùgǒu  ―  to not be the least bit negligent

2. casually; carelessly

   苟同  ―  gǒutóng  ―  to readily agree

3. tentatively; for the time being

   • 苟全性命於亂世，不求聞達於諸侯。 [Classical Chinese, trad.]
     苟全性命于乱世，不求闻达于诸侯。 [Classical Chinese, simp.]

     From: 227, 諸葛亮 (Zhūgě Liàng) (Zhuge Liang), 出師表

     Gǒuquán xìngmìng yú luànshì, bù qiú wèndá yú zhūhóu. [Pinyin]

     For the time being, I did what I could to survive the chaotic times, and never wished to become eminent among the nobles.

4. (literary) if only; if; as long as

   • 苟能充之，足以保四海；苟不充之，不足以事父母。 [Classical Chinese, trad. and simp.]

     From: Mencius, c. 4^th century BCE

     Gǒu néng chōng zhī, zúyǐ bǎo sìhǎi; gǒu bù chōng zhī, bù zúyǐ shì fùmǔ. [Pinyin]

     If the four principles can be developed, men will be capable of living and protecting all within the four seas; if the four principles are not developed, men will not be capable of serving their parents.

   • 苟利國家生死以，豈因禍福避趨之？ [Classical Chinese, trad.]
     苟利国家生死以，岂因祸福避趋之？ [Classical Chinese, simp.]

     From: 1842, Lin Zexu, 《赴戍登程口占示家人》

     Gǒu lì guójiā shēngsǐ yǐ, qǐ yīn huòfú bìqū zhī? [Pinyin]

     Were it to benefit my country I would lay down my life; What then is risk to me?

5. (obsolete on its own in Standard Chinese) a type of grass
6. a surname

Synonyms

Dialectal synonyms of 如果 (“if”) [map]

Variety	Location	Words edit
Classical Chinese		若, 假, 如, 使, 令, 苟, 向, 向使, 向令, 假令, 假使, 誠, 誠使, 倘, 儻, 當使
Formal (Written Standard Chinese)		若, 如, 如果, 若果, 果若, 假如, 假若, 假使, 假設, 倘若, 倘或, 倘然, 倘使, 若是, 若然, 設若, 設使, 設令, 設或, 設
Northeastern Mandarin	Beijing	要是, 要
	Taiwan	要是, 要, 如果
	Malaysia	如果
	Singapore	如果
Jilu Mandarin	Jinan	要是
Central Plains Mandarin	Xi'an	要是
Southwestern Mandarin	Chengdu	要是, 假比
	Wuhan	要是
Jianghuai Mandarin	Yangzhou	要是, 要, 假使
	Hefei	要是, 倘此, 倘倘
Cantonese	Guangzhou	如果, 若果, 若然, 假使間
	Hong Kong	如果, 若果, 若然, 若然之, 假使, 假使間, 假如
	Macau	假如
	Taishan	如果, 若果, 假使
	Kaiping (Chikan)	若果
	Yangjiang	設若
	Kuala Lumpur (Guangfu)	如果
	Singapore (Guangfu)	如果
Gan	Nanchang	要是, 若是
	Lichuan	假使
Hakka	Meixian	係話, 若係, 如果
	Huizhou (Huicheng; Bendihua)	若果, 係講, 係話
	Miaoli (N. Sixian)	係講, 若係, 假使
	Pingtung (Neipu; S. Sixian)	係講, 係準, 係準講, 準講, 準假, 係若, 若係, 假使, 假詐
	Hsinchu County (Zhudong; Hailu)	係講, 若係, 假使
	Taichung (Dongshi; Dabu)	準講, 可比, 假使, 係講, 若係, 若係講, 準若講
	Hsinchu County (Qionglin; Raoping)	係講, 若係, 假使
	Yunlin (Lunbei; Zhao'an)	若係講, 假使, 若講, 係講, 若係
	Kuching (Hepo)	假使
Jin	Taiyuan	要是
Northern Min	Jian'ou	來是, 如果
	Pucheng (Shibei)	來是, 如果
Eastern Min	Fuzhou	儷是, 若還
Southern Min	Xiamen	設使, 若是, 若, 若欲是, 假若, 假若是, 欲, 欲是, 甲若, 甲若是
	Quanzhou	設使, 若是, 若, 若欲是, 假若, 假若是, 欲, 欲是
	Zhangzhou	設使, 若是, 若, 假若, 假若是, 欲, 欲是, 甲若, 甲若是
	Tainan	若是, 若準, 若, 假使, 設使
	Penang (Hokkien)	若是, 若準
	Singapore (Hokkien)	若是
	Manila (Hokkien)	若是, 若, 假使
	Chaozhou	若是
	Shantou	如果
	Jieyang	若, 若是
	Singapore (Teochew)	若是
	Wenchang	但見, 欲
	Haikou	麼是, 設如, 設使
Wu	Shanghai	要是, 如果, 假使, 倘然, 倘使, 是得
	Suzhou	要, 如果
	Wenzhou	若是, 若
Xiang	Changsha	要是
	Shuangfeng	要是, 要此

Compounds

• 一字不苟
• 一絲不苟 / 一丝不苟 (yīsībùgǒu)
• 不苟 (bùgǒu)
• 不苟且
• 不苟言笑 (bùgǒuyánxiào)
• 不苟言談 / 不苟言谈
• 偷合苟容
• 偷生苟活
• 因循苟且 (yīnxúngǒuqiě)
• 媮合苟容 / 偷合苟容
• 方正不苟
• 狗苟
• 狗苟蠅營 / 狗苟蝇营
• 畏難苟安 / 畏难苟安 (wèinángǒu'ān)
• 臨財不苟 / 临财不苟
• 臨財苟得 / 临财苟得
• 臨難苟免 / 临难苟免 (línnàngǒumiǎn)
• 苟且 (gǒuqiě)
• 苟且偷安
• 苟且偷生 (gǒuqiětōushēng)
• 苟且唐塞
• 苟且自度
• 苟免 (gǒumiǎn)
• 苟全 (gǒuquán)
• 苟同 (gǒutóng)
• 苟合 (gǒuhé)
• 苟合取容
• 苟存
• 苟安 (gǒu'ān)
• 苟安一隅
• 苟容
• 苟容曲從 / 苟容曲从
• 苟延殘喘 / 苟延残喘 (gǒuyáncánchuǎn)
• 苟延殘息 / 苟延残息
• 苟弟轉酷 / 苟弟转酷
• 苟得
• 苟政
• 苟活 (gǒuhuó)
• 苟為 / 苟为
• 苟然
• 苟營 / 苟营
• 苟生
• 苟留殘喘 / 苟留残喘
• 苟祿 / 苟禄
• 苟簡 / 苟简
• 苟言
• 苟非
• 蠅營狗苟 / 蝇营狗苟 (yíngyínggǒugǒu)
• 行不苟合 (xíngbùgǒuhé)
• 行不苟容

Etymology 2

For pronunciation and definitions of 苟 – see 茍 (“to be circumspect or cautious in one's behaviour ”). (This character is recorded in one or more historical dictionaries as a variant form of 茍).

References

• “苟”, in 漢語多功能字庫 (Multi-function Chinese Character Database)‎^[1], 香港中文大學 (the Chinese University of Hong Kong), 2014–

Japanese

Kanji

苟

(Hyōgai kanji)

1. any, at all, in the least

Readings

• Go-on: く (ku)
• Kan-on: こう (kō)
• Kun: いやしくも (iyashikumo, 苟も)

Derived terms

• 苟安(こうあん) (kōan)
• 苟合(こうごう) (kōgō)
• 苟且(こうしょ) (kōsho)
• 苟且(かりそめ) (karisome)

Korean

Hanja

苟 (eumhun 진실로 구 (jinsillo gu))

1. hanja form^? of 구 (“careless, frivolous”)
2. hanja form^? of 구 (“illicit”)
3. hanja form^? of 구 (“if, but, if only”)

Vietnamese

Han character

苟: Hán Nôm readings: cẩu, cảu, càu, cú

Zhuang

Noun

苟

1. Sawndip form of gyaeuj (“head; headhair”)