垢

• Physical: Grime, filth, or stains; specifically dirt that has accumulated or adhered to a surface (crust/smudge).
• Moral/Social: Shame, disgrace, or a "stain" on one's reputation.

// Technical (Buddhist): Defilements (//malas*); mental impurities—such as greed, anger, and ignorance—that obscure the innate purity of the mind.

• Functions primarily as a noun (the filth itself) or an adjective (dirty/stained).
• Rarely functions as a transitive verb; for the action of making something dirty, 污 is more typical.

// vs. 塵 (chén): //Chén// refers to light, transient, floating dust; //gòu* refers to heavy, settled, and adherent dirt.

// vs. 污 (wū): //Wū// often implies liquid contamination or systemic pollution; //gòu* suggests solid residue or a crust.

// vs. 穢 (huì): //Huì// carries stronger connotations of ritual impurity, foulness, or active disgust; //gòu* is more descriptive of accumulation.

The core conceptual thread is "adherence." Whether translating physical grime or a spiritual state, the glyph suggests something that has stuck to the subject and requires active removal or scrubbing.