诰

誥

gào

告 + 讠

Definitions

gào to enjoin; to grant (a title)

Etymology

To verbally 讠 inform 告; 告 also provides the pronunciation

About

The character 诰 denotes an imperial mandate or formal decree, especially one issued by an emperor conferring a title or honor. It is a phono-semantic compound: the left side is the speech radical 讠 (yán, 'to speak'), marking it as language-related, and the right side is 告 (gào, 'to inform'), which provides the sound and reinforces the idea of an official announcement. The traditional form 誥 replaces 讠 with the full radical 言. 诰 strictly refers to high-level official decrees, rather than ordinary conversation.

Etymology Hide

Bronze Early Western Zhou (~1000 BC)

Seal Chu (Warring States: 475-221 BC)

Seal Shuowen (~100 AD)

Clerical Western Han dynasty (202 BC-9 AD)

Traditional Modern

Simplified Modern

Example Sentences Hide

这本书记载了古代诰命。

Zhè běn shū jìzǎi le gǔdài gàomìng.

This book records ancient imperial mandates.

皇帝颁布了一道诰谕。

Huángdì bānbù le yī dào gàoyù.

The emperor issued an imperial edict.

在博物馆里看到了一份诰封。

Zài bówùguǎn lǐ kàndào le yī fèn gàofēng.

I saw an imperial conferment document in the museum.

诰文的内容非常严肃。

Gàowén de nèiróng fēicháng yánsù.

The content of the imperial proclamation is very serious.

古代诰命通常用文言文书写。

Gǔdài gàomìng tōngcháng yòng wényánwén shūxiě.

Ancient imperial mandates were usually written in classical Chinese.

研究者仔细分析了那份诰书的真伪。

Yánjiū zhě zǐxì fēnxī le nà fèn gàoshū de zhēnwěi.

Researchers carefully analyzed the authenticity of that imperial document.

诰令的颁布意味着政策的重大变化。

Gàolìng de bānbù yìwèizhe zhèngcè de zhòngdà biànhuà.

The issuance of the imperial decree signifies major changes in policy.

由于诰谕的权威性，官员们必须严格遵守。

Yóuyú gàoyù de quánwēi xìng, guānyuán men bìxū yángé zūnshǒu.

Due to the authority of the imperial edict, officials must strictly comply.

Related Characters

Component: 告

Component: 讠