How to Write 冓 (gòu) — Meaning “To meet / inner room (ancient)”

Imagine two people meeting inside a wide open door (冂) while holding a long cloth (冉) between them — the cloth represents the inner room where they meet privately. The shape of 冓 looks like a little house with a curtain inside, reminding you of 'to meet' in a hidden chamber.

Write the outer frame 冂 first (left vertical, top horizontal, right vertical), then the inner part 冉: start with the central vertical stroke, then the two horizontals and the bottom. A common mistake is making the inner 冉 too tall — it should fit neatly inside the frame, with the bottom horizontal aligning with the frame's bottom.

冓 has an inner component 冉 (with two horizontal strokes inside a vertical), while 冒 has an inner part that looks like a horizontal eye (目) but is actually 冃 (mào, a cap). 㒼 (mán) has a similar frame but contains an inner component resembling 'two plants' — 冓 always has the distinct 冉 shape, making it narrower.

冓 is rarely used in modern Chinese; it mainly appears in ancient texts or classical literature to mean 'to meet' or 'inner chamber'. It is not part of the HSK vocabulary, so learners may encounter it only in historical or calligraphy contexts, where it evokes the idea of a private meeting place in traditional Chinese architecture.

Common words containing 冓 include: 冓 (gòu) — To meet / inner room (ancient).