Chinese symbol for “chasm”
鸿沟
hóng gōu
Traditional: 鴻溝
(fig.) gulf; chasm; wide gap; (originally) the Hong Canal in Henan, which in ancient times formed the border between enemies Chu 楚 (Chǔ) and Han 汉 (Hàn)
The closest CC-CEDICT match for chasm is 鸿沟 (hóng gōu), defined as: (fig.) gulf; chasm; wide gap; (originally) the Hong Canal in Henan, which in ancient times formed the border between enemies Chu 楚 (Chǔ) and Han 汉 (Hàn).
Before using these characters for a tattoo, check them with a native speaker. Dictionary words often have several meanings, and the right choice depends on context.
Characters and stroke order
Traditional forms
Other Chinese words for “chasm”
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 堑 (塹) | qiàn | (bound form) moat; chasm |
Related words
Other words that share a character with 鸿沟.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 飞鸿 (飛鴻) | fēi hóng | swan goose; (fig.) letter; message |
| 鸿雁 (鴻雁) | hóng yàn | (bird species of China) swan goose (Anser cygnoides) |
| 鸿运 (鴻運) | hóng yùn | variant of 红运 (hóng yùn) |
| 鸿蒙 (鴻蒙) | hóng méng | (literary) primordial chaos (the undifferentiated state of the universe before creation) |
| 鸿福 (鴻福) | hóng fú | variant of 洪福 (hóng fú) |
| 沟通 (溝通) | gōu tōng | to join; to connect; to link up; to communicate |
| 水沟 (水溝) | shuǐ gōu | gutter; sewer |
| 沟渠 (溝渠) | gōu qú | channel; moat |
See also: Japanese symbol for “chasm”.
Data: CC-CEDICT (CC BY-SA 4.0); Unihan Database (Unicode License v3); Make Me a Hanzi (Arphic Public License (graphics.txt); LGPL-3.0-or-later (dictionary.txt)); wordfreq (CC BY-SA 4.0 (data)). Retrieved 2026-10-22.