<p>There was a discussion about different "talk" words in chinese. Here is the link: <a href="https://chinese.stackexchange.com/questions/17382/roots-of-the-difference-between-%E8%B0%88-%E8%AE%BA-%E8%AF%B4-%E8%AE%B2-%E8%AE%AE-%E5%8F%99-%E8%A8%80-%E6%8A%A5-%E5%91%8A/17396#17396">Roots of the difference between 谈,论,说,讲,议, 叙,言,报,告,述</a></p>

<p>And there was an explanation of 告. </p>

<blockquote>
  <p>告
  (gao4) consists of the parts 牛 (niu2) "cow" and 口 (kou3) "mouth". 說文解字 is a bit confused about this, but it appears to mean the sound a cow makes. It originally meant "to report something to a superior". Nowadays it means "to tell somebody about something".</p>
</blockquote>

<p>Now I wonder does 告 still posess some of it's connotations from its glyph origin?</p>

<p>Does 告(to tell) sound vulgar to native speaker? </p>

<p>Are there words to insult someone using "Cow talking" analogy?</p>

<p>Does it have the connotation of "to fink" (to be an informator)?</p>

<p>Or maybe it has something to do with LOUD talking just like cows always moo'ing loud?</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-03-07T10:42:37.533Z
告某人某事 may be thought of as the short form of 告诉某人某事，TV watching would suggest nothing vulgar about 告诉，告; 告 functions as component of many verbs and related nouns involving communication see e.g. 小马词典：报告、宣告、广告、控告，。。。,inform on s.o. (fink?) can be 告发 （see any dictionary)
user6065
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-03-07T14:21:24.623Z
re ＂informator＂or ＂informer＂：告密者 (iciba has colloquialisms/俗话：snitch songbird talebearer tattletale weasel) also see 电视剧 by the same name,  http://tv.sohu.com/20110531/n308933045.shtml
user6065
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-03-07T20:47:25.470Z
In general, the negative or positive meaning of words in modern Chinese is not based on their ancient etymology. And cows are not considered a bad animal in ancient China.
KWeiss
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-03-07T23:02:30.790Z
common in mandarin, cf. iciba（普通话）:告: inform; tell; accuse; sue，examples：如果你不付给我钱， 我就告你。谁都知道他被诬告了。
user6065
CC BY-SA 3.0
2018-01-12T04:10:39.530Z
My opinion is that this character does not use the cow radical, though it may be that this is what is common .  You see it has a base line and the vertical line does not extend through.  It looks like the character for Earth, with a shield as I see it.  I don't know what the oracle or bone script will say.  Why it is above kou is iffy to say the least.  I am not sure how I feel about this.   EDIT:  You are welcome to try and see it this way, but I have changed my mind after seeing its influence.
Abe Shudug
<meaning><etymology><glyph-origin>
Does 告 posess negative connotation?
# Does 告 posess negative connotation?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2016-03-07)

There was a discussion about different "talk" words in chinese. Here is the link: [Roots of the difference between 谈,论,说,讲,议, 叙,言,报,告,述](https://chinese.stackexchange.com/questions/17382/roots-of-the-difference-between-%E8%B0%88-%E8%AE%BA-%E8%AF%B4-%E8%AE%B2-%E8%AE%AE-%E5%8F%99-%E8%A8%80-%E6%8A%A5-%E5%91%8A/17396#17396)

And there was an explanation of 告.

> 告
> (gao4) consists of the parts 牛 (niu2) "cow" and 口 (kou3) "mouth". 說文解字 is a bit confused about this, but it appears to mean the sound a cow makes. It originally meant "to report something to a superior". Nowadays it means "to tell somebody about something".

Now I wonder does 告 still posess some of it's connotations from its glyph origin?

Does 告(to tell) sound vulgar to native speaker?

Are there words to insult someone using "Cow talking" analogy?

Does it have the connotation of "to fink" (to be an informator)?

Or maybe it has something to do with LOUD talking just like cows always moo'ing loud?

**Tags:** meaning, etymology, glyph-origin

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: 告某人某事 may be thought of as the short form of 告诉某人某事，TV watching would suggest nothing vulgar about 告诉，告; 告 functions as component of many verbs and related nouns involving communication see e.g. 小马词典：报告、宣告、广告、控告，。。。,inform on s.o. (fink?) can be 告发 （see any dictionary)  
> **username_1**: re ＂informator＂or ＂informer＂：告密者 (iciba has colloquialisms/俗话：snitch songbird talebearer tattletale weasel) also see 电视剧 by the same name,  http://tv.sohu.com/20110531/n308933045.shtml  
> **username_2**: In general, the negative or positive meaning of words in modern Chinese is not based on their ancient etymology. And cows are not considered a bad animal in ancient China.  
> **username_1**: common in mandarin, cf. iciba（普通话）:告: inform; tell; accuse; sue，examples：如果你不付给我钱， 我就告你。谁都知道他被诬告了。  
> **username_3**: My opinion is that this character does not use the cow radical, though it may be that this is what is common .  You see it has a base line and the vertical line does not extend through.  It looks like the character for Earth, with a shield as I see it.  I don't know what the oracle or bone script will say.  Why it is above kou is iffy to say the least.  I am not sure how I feel about this.   EDIT:  You are welcome to try and see it this way, but I have changed my mind after seeing its influence.  

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## 0 answers

