勾结
goū jié · HSK 7
to collude with
🤝🕵️ 勾 (hook) + 结 (tie/knot) = hook + tie together into a secret pact
勾 means hook or snag; 结 means to tie or knot. Together: hooking and tying parties into a hidden alliance — collusion. Often paired negatively, as in 勾结敌人 (collude with the enemy).
勾 — 勹 wrap + 厶 private/small
勾 originally depicted a hook or curved shape, derived from 句 (which itself shows something bent or curved). The 勹 component suggests wrapping or enclosing, while 厶 adds the curved interior. Over time it came to mean 'hook,' 'to hook,' or 'to entice.'
结 — silk radical 糸 + lucky 吉 (phonetic)
结 is a semantic-phonetic compound. The silk radical 糸 on the left signals the meaning, since the original sense was tying threads or cords into knots. The right side 吉 (jí) provides the sound. From the literal 'knot' it extended to figurative senses like 'bind,' 'conclude,' or 'form (a bond).'