Chinese symbol for “tales”

掌故

zhǎng gù

anecdote; tales (esp. about a historical figure)

The closest CC-CEDICT match for tales is 掌故 (zhǎng gù), defined as: anecdote; tales (esp. about a historical figure).

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

掌 zhǎng

in charge; the palm of the hand, the sole of the foot

radical 64 ⼿ · 12 strokes

故 gù

reason, cause; happening, instance

radical 66 ⽁ · 9 strokes

Related words

Other words that share a character with 掌故.

Word	Pinyin	Meaning
掌握	zhǎng wò	to grasp (often fig.); to control
掌控	zhǎng kòng	to control; in control of
掌声 (掌聲)	zhǎng shēng	applause; 阵 (zhèn)
掌管	zhǎng guǎn	in charge of; to control
鼓掌	gǔ zhǎng	to applaud; to clap
掌权 (掌權)	zhǎng quán	to wield (political etc) power; be in power
故事	gù shì	old practice
事故	shì gù	accident; 桩 (zhuāng),起 (qǐ),次 (cì)

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.