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How to Write 哥 (gē) — Meaning “Older brother”

gē HSK Level 1 10 strokes Radical: 口

哥 (gē) means "Older brother" in Chinese. It has 10 strokes with the radical 口, and is HSK Level 1.

Rated 3.4/5 in difficulty (challenging).

Harder than 73% of HSK Level 1 characters.

Appears in 3+ common words including 哥哥 (gē gē), 大哥 (dà gē), 帅哥 (shuài gē).

Due to its 10 strokes, Hanzi Writer's error detection shows 哥 requires focused practice — most learners need 10+ attempts for consistent accuracy.

Stroke order practice for 哥 - gē

Practice Writing 哥 (gē)

Open Hanzi Writer to see the animated stroke order and practice writing 哥 with real-time feedback.

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How to Write 哥

The character 哥 (gē) is written with 10 strokes. Follow the standard Chinese stroke order: top to bottom, left to right, outside before inside. The radical 口 is one of its key components.

Practice the correct stroke order with the Hanzi Writer app to see animated stroke-by-stroke guidance with real-time feedback.

What Does gē (哥) Mean in Chinese?

哥 means Older brother.

As an HSK Level 1 character, 哥 is among the first characters beginners learn.

Character Data

Character哥
Pinyingē (ge)
MeaningOlder brother
Strokes10
Radical口
HSK Level1
Difficulty3.4/5

Origin of 哥

哥 is a compound of two 可 (kě) stacked vertically, each containing a 口 (mouth). The doubling originally meant 'to sing' (harmonizing voices) but was later borrowed phonetically to mean 'older brother', evoking the idea of two voices or siblings together.

💡 Memory Tip: Picture two mouths (口) stacked on top of each other—the top mouth is your older brother always speaking down to you.

Common Words with 哥

哥哥 gē gē
Older brother
大哥 dà gē
Big brother
帅哥 shuài gē
handsome guy

Example Sentences

我哥哥是学生。

wǒ gē gē shì xué shēng

My older brother is a student.

他是我的大哥。

tā shì wǒ de dà gē

He is my eldest brother.

那个帅哥是谁？

nà ge shuài gē shì shuí

Who is that handsome guy?

Similar Characters Comparison

Character Pinyin Strokes Radical
哥 (current) gē 10 口
呢 ne / ní 8 口
呣 ḿ 8 口
呤 líng / lìng 8 口
Stroke order practice for 哥 - gē

Practice Writing 哥 (gē)

Open Hanzi Writer to see the animated stroke order and practice writing 哥 with real-time feedback.

✨ Animated stroke order · Handwriting recognition · HSK-graded practice · Free to use

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Frequently Asked Questions about 哥

The character 哥 is made of two identical parts stacked vertically, each being 可 (kě) which contains the mouth radical 口. This repetition symbolizes two brothers, with the top part representing the older brother and the bottom the younger.

More HSK Level 1 Characters

爱ài好hǎo/hào八bā爸bà吧ba/bā白bái天tiān百bǎi班bān半bàn年nián帮bāng忙máng包bāo子zi/zǐ杯bēi北běi边biān京jīng本běn

Characters with Radical 口

㕡hé卟bǔ口kǒu古gǔ句gōu/jù另lìng叨dāo/tāo叩kòu只zhī/zhǐ叫jiào

Other 10-Stroke Characters

㢆chán㼌yǔ䍃yóu丵zhuó乘chéng/shèng亳bó俯fǔ俱jù俳pái俸fèng