郭

Translingual

Han character

郭 (Kangxi radical 163, 邑+8, 11 strokes, cangjie input 卜木弓中 (YDNL), four-corner 0742₇, composition ⿰享阝)

Derived characters

• 㗥 墎 㨯 漷 㬑 槨 䁨 鞹 廓 霩 𡻳 𤍪 𥕖 𦗒 𨎎 𥂣 𪅪 𡻙 𣍉 𦹐

References

• Kangxi Dictionary: page 1273, character 13
• Dai Kanwa Jiten: character 39474
• Dae Jaweon: page 1771, character 20
• Hanyu Da Zidian (first edition): volume 6, page 3780, character 7
• Unihan data for U+90ED

Chinese

Glyph origin

Historical forms of the character 郭
Shuowen Jiezi (compiled in Han)	Liushutong (compiled in Ming)
Small seal script	Transcribed ancient scripts

Originally written 𩫏.

Later 邑 was added to form an ideogrammic compound (會意／会意) : 𩫏 (“tall building”) + 邑 (“city”) – a city with tall buildings.

From clerical script, the 𩫏 became written as the unrelated 享 through the process of libian.

Etymology

From Proto-Sino-Tibetan *s/r-kawk ~ s/r-kwak (“outer covering; skin, bark, rind”) (STEDT, Schuessler, 2007).

“to be none of someone's own business”

Contraction of 關我／关我 (guān wǒ). See 關……屁事／关……屁事 (guān...pìshì) for details.

Pronunciation

Definitions

郭

1. outer city wall

   • 三里之城，七里之郭，環而攻之而不勝。 [Classical Chinese, trad.]
     三里之城，七里之郭，环而攻之而不胜。 [Classical Chinese, simp.]

     From: Mencius, c. 4^th century BCE

     Sān lǐ zhī chéng, qī lǐ zhī guō, huán ér gōng zhī ér bù shèng.

     There is a city, with an inner wall of three li in circumference, and an outer wall of seven. The enemy surround and attack it, but they are not able to take it.

   • 爺孃聞女來，出郭相扶將。 [Classical Chinese, trad.]
     爷娘闻女来，出郭相扶将。 [Classical Chinese, simp.]

     From: 木蘭詩 (Ballad of Mulan)

     Yéniáng wén nǚ lái, chū guō xiāng fújiāng.

     (please add an English translation of this usage example)

2. (literary) (alt. form 廓) outline
3. (～國) (historical) Guo, a minor state that existed during the Zhou dynasty and was conquered by the state of Qi in 670 BCE.
4. (Taiwan, Internet slang) to be none of someone's own business; to have nothing to do with someone
5. a surname

   郭守敬  ―  Guō Shǒujìng  ―  Guo Shoujing (Yuan dynasty Chinese astronomer)

Descendants

• → English: Guo, Kuo, Kwok, Kuok, Quek, Kuek, Kwek
• → Tagalog: Kwek, Que

Compounds

Japanese

Kanji

(common “Jōyō” kanji)

1. Quarter (of a city)
2. Enclosure

Readings

• Go-on: かく (kaku, Jōyō)^{←くわく (kwaku, historical)}
• Kan-on: かく (kaku, Jōyō)^{←くわく (kwaku, historical)}
• Kun: くるわ (kuruwa, 郭)

Compounds

• 外郭
• 郭大
• 輪郭

Etymology

Korean

Etymology

From Middle Chinese 郭 (MC kwak). Recorded as Middle Korean 곽〮 (kwák) (Yale: kwak) in Hunmong Jahoe (訓蒙字會 / 훈몽자회), 1527.

Hanja

Korean Wikisource has texts containing the hanja:

郭

Wikisource

郭 (eumhun 둘레/성곽 곽 (dulle/seonggwak gwak))

1. Hanja form^? of 곽 (“outer city wall; girdle”).

   Synonym: 廓 (곽 (gwak))

2. Hanja form^? of 곽 (“a surname”).

Compounds

References

• 국제퇴계학회 대구경북지부 (國際退溪學會 大邱慶北支部) (2007). Digital Hanja Dictionary, 전자사전／電子字典.

Vietnamese

Han character

郭: Hán Việt readings: quách
郭: Nôm readings: quách, quắt

1. chữ Hán form of quách (“sarcophagus, outer coffin; outer wall, as of a city or fort; jar containing human remains for reburial”).
2. chữ Hán form of Quách (“a surname”).

References