How to Write 睾 (gāo) — Meaning “Testicle.”

Imagine the top part 目 as a single eye looking down at two round objects shaped like the bottom part 皋. This helps you remember that 睾 means testicle, as in "the eye sees two round things below." Another trick: the bottom 皋 looks like a pair of balls under the eye.

Write the top 目 first, making it compact and centered. Then write the bottom 皋 with balanced strokes, especially the horizontal lines in 白 and 大. A common mistake is making the 目 too wide or the bottom part too tall, which ruins the symmetry of the character.

睃 (suō) and 睇 (dì) both have the radical 目 but different right parts: 睃 uses 夋 and means "to glance," while 睇 uses 第 and means "to look askance." In contrast, 睾 has the bottom part 皋 and is only used in medical words like 睾丸 (testicle). Visually, 睾 has many more strokes and a more complex bottom section.

睾 appears almost exclusively in medical or scientific terms such as 睾丸 (testicle), 睾酮 (testosterone), and 睾丸炎 (orchitis). It is not used in everyday conversation because discussing reproductive organs is considered private in Chinese culture. Learners will only encounter this character in biology or health-related texts.

Common words containing 睾 include: 睾丸 (gāo wán) — Testicle.; 睾酮 (gāo tóng) — Testosterone.; 睾丸炎 (gāo wán yán) — Orchitis..