How to Write 稿 (gǎo) — Meaning “Draft; manuscript”

Imagine a tall stalk of grain (禾) that you use as paper to write your draft. The tall shape (高) reminds you that a manuscript can be a tall stack of pages. This combines the visual of a plant and height to form the meaning "draft."

Write the left radical 禾 first, keeping it narrow with 5 strokes (left-falling, horizontal, vertical, left-falling, dot). Then write the right part 高, which has 10 strokes and is wider, with the top dot and horizontal line above a square middle section. Common mistakes include making the 禾 too wide or misaligning the bottoms of the two halves.

稿 has 高 (tall) on the right, while 稔 has 念 (thinking) and 稗 has 卑 (humble). Their meanings are different: 稿 means draft or manuscript, 稔 means ripe or familiar (e.g., 素稔 meaning well-known), and 稗 refers to a weed or something insignificant (e.g., 稗官野史 for unofficial histories). Visually, the right parts are distinct: 高 is tall, 念 has a heart, and 卑 is short.

稿 is commonly used in writing and publishing contexts, such as 稿子 (draft), 草稿 (rough draft), and 投稿 (to submit an article). It appears in phrases like 写稿 (to write a draft) and 审稿 (to review a manuscript). Culturally, 稿费 refers to payment for published writing, and submitting a manuscript is called 投稿, an important step for writers.

Common words containing 稿 include: 稿子 (gǎo zi) — Draft; manuscript; 草稿 (cǎo gǎo) — Draft; manuscript.; 投稿 (tóu gǎo) — to submit a manuscript or article.