How to Write 嘏 (gǔ) — Meaning “Good fortune / Longevity”

Picture a wise elder (古) standing next to a great mouth (口) that is speaking a long blessing for longevity. The shape looks like the elder lifting a cup (the top part of 古) to toast, and you can remember that 嘏 = 口 + 古, with the extra strokes above 古 forming a "hat" of blessings.

The character has 14 strokes, and a common mistake is to write the upper part of the right side (the 十-like shape) too narrow, making it look squished. Write the left 口 small and high, then allow the right side to extend wider, especially the horizontal strokes, and be careful not to confuse the bottom of the right side as 月 — it is actually 氵 (water) plus a dot, so count the strokes carefully.

嘏 (gǔ) means good fortune and contains 口 and 古, while 㕡 (hè) is a rare character meaning a deep valley or gully, and its left side is also 口 but the right side is different (霍). 啻 (chì) means "only" or "but" and is used in the phrase 不啻 (bù chì, "not only") — it has a different right side (帝) and a completely different meaning, so context and the right component are key to telling them apart.

嘏 is rarely used in everyday conversation and appears mainly in formal, literary, or classical contexts, such as in birthday congratulations (祝嘏) or temple prayers (嘏辞). You might encounter it in traditional blessing inscriptions, wedding or longevity ceremonies, or in classical Chinese texts, but it is not common in modern HSK vocabulary.

Common words containing 嘏 include: 祝嘏 (zhù gǔ) — To offer birthday congratulations.; 嘏辞 (gǔ cí) — Congratulatory speech / Prayer for blessings; 嘏福 (gǔ fú) — Great blessing / Good fortune.