How to Write 辜 (gū) — Meaning “guilt; fault; crime.”

Imagine an ancient (古) criminal forced to perform bitter labor (辛) as punishment for their crime. Picture someone in old times chained and working hard under the sun — this visual links the components to the meaning of guilt or fault.

The top part 古 should be slightly smaller and centered, with the bottom 辛 extending wider. The most common mistake is making the vertical stroke of 古 too long, which throws off balance — keep it short so the bottom 辛 has room. Also, note that the bottom 辛 has two horizontal strokes, and the middle vertical stroke should not touch the top horizontal of 辛.

辜 has the radical 辛 (bitter) on the bottom, while 辟 has 辛 on the left and 卩 (seal) on the right, meaning "to open" or "to refute." 辣 has 辛 on the left and 束 (bundle) on the right, meaning "spicy" — visually, 辣 is symmetrical left-right, while 辜 is top-bottom. Meaning-wise, 辜 always relates to guilt, not spiciness or opening.

辜 appears in common words like 无辜 (innocent) and 辜负 (to let someone down). For example, 无辜 means "without guilt" like an innocent person, and 辜负 is used when you fail to meet someone's expectations, e.g., 辜负了父母的期望. A cultural note: the idiom 死有余辜 means someone is so guilty that even death is not enough punishment, often used in serious crimes.

Common words containing 辜 include: 无辜 (wú gū) — Innocent; 辜负 (gū fù) — to let down; to fail to live up to; to betray.; 死有余辜 (sǐ yǒu yú gū) — Even death cannot atone for the crimes..