gōu
ditch; gutter; trench; gully
这条沟很深，我过不去。
Zhè tiáo gōu hěn shēn, wǒ guò bù qù.
This ditch is too deep, I can't cross it.
我们在沟里发现了水。
Wǒmen zài gōu lǐ fàxiànle shuǐ.
We found water in the ditch.
这条沟把村子分成了两半。
Zhè tiáo gōu bǎ cūnzi fēnchéngle liǎng bàn.
This ditch divides the village into two halves.
渠 (qú)
canal
河 (hé)
river
平地 (píngdì)
flat land
山 (shān)
mountain
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The Chinese character 沟 (gōu) for "ditch" or "trench" is a pictophonetic character, combining the phonetic component 苟 (gǒu) and the semantic component 氵(water). The character 苟 originally depicted a bent-over person, and was used to represent the idea of "bent" or "crooked". When combined with the water radical, the character 沟 took on the meaning of a "ditch" or "trench", as it represented a long, narrow depression in the ground that is often filled with water. The character 沟 is commonly used in Chinese to refer to ditches, trenches, or canals, and can also be used metaphorically to refer to a difficult or challenging situation.
