挂钩

• Pinyin: guà gōu
• Hanzi breakdown: 挂 = 扌 (hand radical) + 卦 (trigram) — to hang or attach by hand; 钩 = 钅 (metal radical) + 句 (curve) — a metal curve or hook

Meaning

Hook; to link or connect two things together. Both a physical hook for hanging items and a verb meaning to establish a formal connection between systems, policies, or institutions.

As a noun, 挂钩 refers to a physical hook mounted on a wall or door for hanging items. As a verb-object compound, it is widely used in administrative, economic, and policy language to mean linking two indicators, organisations, or systems — for example tying wages to performance or subsidies to output.

Examples

1. 浴室门后安装了几个挂钩，方便挂放毛巾和浴袍。 Several hooks were installed behind the bathroom door, making it easy to hang towels and bathrobes.
2. 政府决定将教师绩效与学生升学率挂钩，此举在教育界引发了广泛争议。 The government decided to link teacher performance to students’ advancement rates, sparking widespread controversy in the education world.
3. 两家企业正式挂钩合作，共同开发新能源汽车的核心零部件市场。 The two companies formally partnered up to jointly develop the market for core components for new-energy vehicles.

Usage Guide

Context: business, policy, daily life

Tone: neutral

Do Say

• 薪资与绩效挂钩是现代企业普遍采用的激励机制之一。(Linking salary to performance is one of the incentive mechanisms widely used in modern enterprises.)
• 把员工奖金和项目完成率挂钩，有助于明显提升整体积极性。(Tying employee bonuses to project completion rates helps noticeably boost overall motivation.)

Don't Say

• 用'挂钩'来描述两人之间的情感联系或人际关系 — 挂钩 is for institutional or systemic linkages; use 联系 or 关联 for personal or emotional connections

Origin & History

挂 (to hang; to attach) + 钩 (hook). Literally 'a hanging hook,' extended to mean linking or connecting two entities.

Cultural Context

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal