How to Write 股 (gǔ) — Meaning “Thigh; share (stock); strand; whiff.”

Imagine a "stock" of meat (⺼) being hit by a hand holding a weapon (殳, which resembles a hand with a stick) — a strange way to remember "thigh" and "share." Another trick: think of "gǔ" as "goo" — you have gooey meat on your thigh, and later you buy "goo" (stock) shares. Combine the meat radical and the sound of "goo."

Pay attention to the left radical ⺼: it is written with a short vertical stroke and two diagonal strokes, not like the character 月 (moon). The right part 殳 has a horizontal stroke then a sweeping stroke, followed by a short second stroke and a long "you"-like hook — avoid making the top of 殳 too wide. Total 8 strokes: write the left side first (4 strokes), then the right side (4 strokes), keeping the overall shape balanced and not too narrow.

㐆 is a rare character that looks similar but has no common usage and is not related to body parts, while 股 specifically means "thigh" or "stock." 肝 (gān) also has the ⺼ radical but means "liver," and the right side is 干 (gān) instead of 殳 — visually, 肝 has a simpler right side with a single horizontal and vertical line, whereas 股 has a more complex right side with multiple strokes. Remember: 股 = meat + hit (殳); 肝 = meat + dry (干).

股 is most commonly used in finance to mean "stock" or "share," as in 股票 (stock certificate) and 股份 (shares). It is also used in everyday language for body parts in words like 屁股 (buttocks) and 大腿 (thigh). A cultural note: investing in 股票 is extremely popular in China, and the term 股民 refers to stock market participants, reflecting the significance of the stock market in modern Chinese society.

Common words containing 股 include: 股票 (gǔ piào) — Stock; share.; 屁股 (pì gǔ) — buttocks; bottom; 股份 (gǔ fèn) — Shares; stock..