About
The character 鹄 (hú or gǔ), the simplified form of 鵠, has two distinct meanings based on its pronunciation. It is a phono-semantic compound: the semantic radical 鸟 (simplified from 鳥, niǎo) places it in the avian category, while the phonetic component 告 (gào) indicates its sound. Pronounced "hú", it refers to a swan, a metaphor for high aspirations in classical texts, as in the idiom 鸿鹄之志 (hónghú zhī zhì). Pronounced "gǔ", its meaning shifts to denote the center of an archery target, a concept foundational to the word 目的 (mùdì), which means "goal" or "target".
Etymology Hide
