Zi:告

告 [gào] tell/report (告​诉, ​报告); ​警告 warn/caution; ​劝告 advise/advice; ​公告 announcement/notice; (HDZ:) ​上​报; … [gù] 告​朔; cf. ​牿/​梏 [jū] ​鞠

2 monosyllabic entries in The ABC Chinese-English Comprehensive Dictionary (namespace Ci):

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The character 告 (7 strokes) is an abbrev. of old forms such as ​吿/​𠰛, replacing the old upper component ​牛 niú ‘ox’ with the combining form ​𠂒 (truncating the bottom of the vertical stroke); cf. ​生 (​牲​口).
    The Shuōwén Seal form of 告(​𠰛​吿) gào ‘tell/report (emergency/news, to a superior)’ combines ​口 kǒu ‘mouth/speak’ (phonosemantic), and ​𠂒/​牛 niú ‘horned ox’ (phonosemantic); an ox which gores is outfitted with a 告/​牿/​梏 gù ‘headboard’ (over the horns) serving as notice/warning (of danger); cf. ䷙ (​大​畜 ‘large domestic animal’) → ䷍ (​大​有 ‘ownership’; ​童​牛​之​牿 ‘the headboard of a young ox’, ​牿/​梏 formerly wr. 告).
    Note: In 告 the function of the component ​牛 niú ‘horned ox (goring with the horns)’ relates to its later forms ​牿/​梏 gù ‘ox's headboard/restraint’ (​楅), in which ​牛 is said to serve as a notification/warning (​警告, ​辰告); in SW 告 is a classifier (​部​首), classifying only itself and ​喾/​嚳 kù ‘urgent report’ (though 告 occurs as component in 18 other SW characters, always as phonetic); the sense 告 gào ‘tell/command (a subordinate to do sth.)’ is also wr. ​诰/​誥(​𧧙), cf. ​祰 gào ‘ritual sacrifice/report (to ancestral superiors)’; the horizontal line of ​牛 is sometimes said to represent the withers yoke (or perhaps like ​牿/​梏 a board/restraint on the horns of a young/foolish bull, to prevent the animal from goring); the traditional explanation of 告 is not well understood, but DYC thought that it should have been classified under ​口, and analyzed with ​牛 niù (phonetic), formerly ​入​声 and read like ​玉 yù (cf. SBGY: ​梏, ​牿); both components ​口 and ​牛 suggest the old readings 告 gù/gào, with different usage emphasis.
    Compare: 告(​𠰛​吿) gù ‘headboard of an ox’ (​楅​衡), later wr. ​牿/​梏; ​䶜/​鵠/​䚛 gǔ/hú ‘to work/polish ivory/horn’.
    Compare: ​牿 gù ‘pen/corral (for oxen/horses)’; ​梏 gù ‘manacles’; ​酷 kù ‘strong liquor; cruel’; ​喾/​嚳 kù ‘urgent report (seeking help in an emergency)’.
    Compare: ​诰/​誥 gào ‘tell/command’, formerly also wr. 告, ​造; ​祰 gào ‘offer ritual/ancestral sacrifice/report’.
    Compare: ​靠 kào ‘be mutually opposed/reliant’; ​古 gǔ ‘ancient/old’; ​舌 shé ‘tongue’.
    “[告] Wieger proposes: to ​牛 butt, attack with ​口 the mouth.” —Karlgren(AD). [cf. ​言 yán ‘direct speech’]
    Note: In the common modern form 告, the component ​牛 is abbrev. to ​𠂒; but also wr. ​吿 (Japanese), which preserves a relatively conservative form, though not as conservative as the old form ​𠰛.
    Compare: ​言 yán ‘direct speech’, in which the top is ​䇂(​𨐋) qiān ‘offend (a superior)’ with ​干 below, not ​舌 shé ‘tongue’.
    HDZ: 告 : gào : (SW: ​牛​觸​人, ​角​箸​橫​木, ​所​以告​人) ​上​报 (​报​答​主​上​的​恩​德 (cf. 告: 告​上; ​誥: ​發​下); ​上​复, ​复​人​来​信​的​敬​语; ​向​上​级​汇​报); 告​诉, ​把​话​说​给​别​人​听; ​请​求 (告​贷, 告​饶); (​古) ​休​假; ​揭​发, 告​状; ​誥: ​谕告, 告​示; (​方​言) ​掭 (​笔); (​方​言) ​给​机​器​或​轮​轴​一​类​东​西​加​油 (cf. ​膏​油); ​嗥 (háo): ​呼​叫; (​姓) • jū : ​𥷚/​鞠: ​审​讯​定​罪 • gù : 告​朔: (​周) ​制, ​天​子​于​每​年​季​冬​把​第​二​年​的​历​书​颁​发​给​诸​侯; (cf. ​牿/​梏, ​楅​衡)
    HDC: ​牛​口 : ​牛​口​之​下 : …​卑​下​的​地​位 (cf. ​牛​角​之​歌, ​牛​下​歌: ​穷​士​自​求​用​世​的​典​故)
►references: Guǎngyùn:417.29,460.36; Wieger:132b; Karlgren:AD307,GSR1039a; Hànyǔ Dà Zìdiǎn:1.589.12; Lindqvist:132; Mathews:3287; Bǐshùn Guīfàn:051.1.05; EDOC:1
►components: ​𠂒​口​​⺧​牛
►Cantonese: gou-
►stroke 告 (... strokes)   
►list characters containing 告 as a component
►list words containing 告 (most common words first)
Unicode: U+544A
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