掛

guà

hang, suspend; suspense

Meaning

  • Physical action of suspending an object by hooking it onto a peg or projection.
  • Posting official notices, plaques, or lists for public view.
  • Psychological preoccupation, lingering worry, or unresolved emotional attachment (e.g., 掛心).

Grammar and usage

  • Predominantly transitive (to hang something).
  • Can be used intransitively to refer to a state of being snagged or caught.

Distinctions

  • Contrast with 懸 (typically a state of suspension, formal display, or static arrangement) and 吊 (suspension specifically by a cord, rope, or string).

History and forms

  • Semantic/Simplified variant: U+6302.

Translator notes

  • In certain contexts, the glyph denotes an unintentional "catching" or snagging (e.g., clothing caught on a branch). The translator should determine if the context implies intentional storage/display or accidental obstruction.

Decontextualized translator aid. This page describes plausible lexical range; it does not choose what the glyph means in a particular passage.