• Log InLog In
  • Register
Liquid`
Team Liquid Liquipedia
EDT 19:24
CEST 01:24
KST 08:24
  • Home
  • Forum
  • Calendar
  • Streams
  • Liquipedia
  • Features
  • Store
  • EPT
  • TL+
  • StarCraft 2
  • Brood War
  • Smash
  • Heroes
  • Counter-Strike
  • Overwatch
  • Liquibet
  • Fantasy StarCraft
  • TLPD
  • StarCraft 2
  • Brood War
  • Blogs
Forum Sidebar
Events/Features
News
Featured News
[ASL21] Ro24 Preview Pt2: News Flash8[ASL21] Ro24 Preview Pt1: New Chaos0Team Liquid Map Contest #22 - Presented by Monster Energy13ByuL: The Forgotten Master of ZvT30Behind the Blue - Team Liquid History Book20
Community News
Weekly Cups (March 23-29): herO takes triple6Aligulac acquired by REPLAYMAN.com/Stego Research7Weekly Cups (March 16-22): herO doubles, Cure surprises3Blizzard Classic Cup @ BlizzCon 2026 - $100k prize pool49Weekly Cups (March 9-15): herO, Clem, ByuN win4
StarCraft 2
General
Aligulac acquired by REPLAYMAN.com/Stego Research Weekly Cups (March 23-29): herO takes triple Team Liquid Map Contest #22 - Presented by Monster Energy What mix of new & old maps do you want in the next ladder pool? (SC2) herO wins SC2 All-Star Invitational
Tourneys
Sparkling Tuna Cup - Weekly Open Tournament RSL Season 4 announced for March-April StarCraft Evolution League (SC Evo Biweekly) WardiTV Mondays World University TeamLeague (500$+) | Signups Open
Strategy
Custom Maps
[M] (2) Frigid Storage Publishing has been re-enabled! [Feb 24th 2026]
External Content
Mutation # 519 Inner Power The PondCast: SC2 News & Results Mutation # 518 Radiation Zone Mutation # 517 Distant Threat
Brood War
General
BW General Discussion BGH Auto Balance -> http://bghmmr.eu/ Build Order Practice Maps Pros React To: SoulKey vs Ample [ASL21] Ro24 Preview Pt2: News Flash
Tourneys
[ASL21] Ro24 Group F Azhi's Colosseum - Foreign KCM [ASL21] Ro24 Group E [ASL21] Ro24 Group D
Strategy
Fighting Spirit mining rates What's the deal with APM & what's its true value Simple Questions, Simple Answers
Other Games
General Games
Stormgate/Frost Giant Megathread Nintendo Switch Thread Starcraft Tabletop Miniature Game General RTS Discussion Thread Darkest Dungeon
Dota 2
The Story of Wings Gaming Official 'what is Dota anymore' discussion
League of Legends
G2 just beat GenG in First stand
Heroes of the Storm
Simple Questions, Simple Answers Heroes of the Storm 2.0
Hearthstone
Deck construction bug Heroes of StarCraft mini-set
TL Mafia
Mafia Game Mode Feedback/Ideas TL Mafia Community Thread Five o'clock TL Mafia
Community
General
US Politics Mega-thread Canadian Politics Mega-thread Things Aren’t Peaceful in Palestine The Games Industry And ATVI European Politico-economics QA Mega-thread
Fan Clubs
The IdrA Fan Club
Media & Entertainment
[Manga] One Piece [Req][Books] Good Fantasy/SciFi books Movie Discussion!
Sports
2024 - 2026 Football Thread Formula 1 Discussion Cricket [SPORT] Tokyo Olympics 2021 Thread General nutrition recommendations
World Cup 2022
Tech Support
[G] How to Block Livestream Ads
TL Community
The Automated Ban List
Blogs
Funny Nicknames
LUCKY_NOOB
Money Laundering In Video Ga…
TrAiDoS
Iranian anarchists: organize…
XenOsky
FS++
Kraekkling
Shocked by a laser…
Spydermine0240
ASL S21 English Commentary…
namkraft
Customize Sidebar...

Website Feedback

Closed Threads



Active: 1296 users

"GOSU"- what does it really mean?

Forum Index > General Forum
Post a Reply
westvolk
Profile Joined November 2005
United States29 Posts
December 27 2005 22:06 GMT
#1
This is one of those words I find myself using without really knowing what it means. Of course I got a general idea, but today I looked it up to find out its real meaning. Google returned this:
http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=gosu&page=1

There is a lot of bullshit on that site, but I wonder if someone here knows enough korean to know if that information in definition #5 or #7 is accurate.

PS> you gotta love definition #25 "like the German word 'chobo'" - yeah, right
ApollyoN
Profile Joined April 2003
United States1297 Posts
December 27 2005 22:08 GMT
#2
Literally translated it means 'high hand', but is used to call someone an expert.
StarN
Profile Blog Joined November 2004
United States2587 Posts
Last Edited: 2005-12-27 22:14:57
December 27 2005 22:14 GMT
#3
my korean cousin[more korean than me] tells me it's just korean for elite
Retired BW Noob
Noun
Profile Joined March 2005
United States1026 Posts
Last Edited: 2005-12-27 22:24:15
December 27 2005 22:17 GMT
#4
First of all, there're two meanings of the word "Su"
1. A move that is usually made in board games
2. Basically hands

and "Go" simply means, High

So, Gosu means "high move", or a move that can be made only by an expert.
I know that you guys all think "gosu" means "high hand" but it really means "high move"
westvolk
Profile Joined November 2005
United States29 Posts
December 27 2005 22:22 GMT
#5
On December 28 2005 07:17 wu wrote:
I know that you guys all think "gosu" means "high hand" but it really means "high move"


Thanks wu. And that makes more sense, too - at least from my perspective. It's our actions that define us, not our intentions*.

* "hand" interpreted as signal or intention.

Wow, deep stuff.
Programmer
Profile Joined February 2004
Canada250 Posts
December 27 2005 22:33 GMT
#6
The word comes from the Mandarin Chinese term "gao shou" (高手), which also literally means high hand. A gao shou is someone with a large amount of skill.
Hot_Bid
Profile Blog Joined October 2003
Braavos36390 Posts
December 27 2005 22:38 GMT
#7
programmer is right on with the chinese term

not sure if that's where the korean word originated from, probably means something similar
@Hot_Bid on Twitter - ESPORTS life since 2010 - http://i.imgur.com/U2psw.png
Night[Mare
Profile Blog Joined December 2004
Mexico4793 Posts
December 27 2005 22:38 GMT
#8
i like more the def. #1 =)
Teamliquidian townie
OzMiTa
Profile Joined January 2004
Spain95 Posts
December 27 2005 22:39 GMT
#9
God of the Starcraft Universe, according to Wikipedia.org
Unforgiven_ve
Profile Blog Joined August 2004
Venezuela1232 Posts
December 27 2005 22:42 GMT
#10
1st Definition

A sub-human who sacrifices his or her social and sex life in exchange for ungodly Starcraft or Warcraft abilities. There have been actual cases where many 'gosu' players had starved to death because of playing Starcraft for too long.

Gosu: "Hahahaha! I can make 82973 zerglings before you can even send your SCVs to the minerals! I'm the best! I FEAR NOTHING!"
You: "...except natural light."


loool!!!
:)
oneofthem
Profile Blog Joined November 2005
Cayman Islands24199 Posts
Last Edited: 2005-12-27 22:59:21
December 27 2005 22:59 GMT
#11
On December 28 2005 07:17 wu wrote:
First of all, there're two meanings of the word "Su"
1. A move that is usually made in board games
2. Basically hands

and "Go" simply means, High

So, Gosu means "high move", or a move that can be made only by an expert.
I know that you guys all think "gosu" means "high hand" but it really means "high move"
so su is move eh? sounds about right
We have fed the heart on fantasies, the heart's grown brutal from the fare, more substance in our enmities than in our love
oneofthem
Profile Blog Joined November 2005
Cayman Islands24199 Posts
December 27 2005 23:11 GMT
#12
On December 28 2005 07:22 westvolk wrote:
Show nested quote +
On December 28 2005 07:17 wu wrote:
I know that you guys all think "gosu" means "high hand" but it really means "high move"


Thanks wu. And that makes more sense, too - at least from my perspective. It's our actions that define us, not our intentions*.

* "hand" interpreted as signal or intention.

Wow, deep stuff.
I disagree. Intentions define more htan actions.
We have fed the heart on fantasies, the heart's grown brutal from the fare, more substance in our enmities than in our love
zrucrem
Profile Joined September 2005
Afghanistan425 Posts
December 27 2005 23:22 GMT
#13
get your facts straight

im korean

gosu = experienced
chobo = inexperienced
:D?!
dronebabo
Profile Blog Joined December 2003
10866 Posts
December 28 2005 01:15 GMT
#14
--- Nuked ---
SoMuchBetter
Profile Blog Joined April 2003
Australia10606 Posts
Last Edited: 2005-12-28 01:30:18
December 28 2005 01:26 GMT
#15
gosu in korean
gao shou in chinese
jouzu in japanese
the vietnamese is also very similar but i cant remember it off the top of my head.

the kanji for the japanese version literally translates as high hand as well

On December 28 2005 07:17 wu wrote:
First of all, there're two meanings of the word "Su"
1. A move that is usually made in board games
2. Basically hands

and "Go" simply means, High

So, Gosu means "high move", or a move that can be made only by an expert.
I know that you guys all think "gosu" means "high hand" but it really means "high move"


the hand is symbolic of work, so when you think about it, translating gosu as high hand makes perfect sense
AUSSIESCUM
TeamLiquid eSTROgeneral #1 • RIP
westvolk
Profile Joined November 2005
United States29 Posts
December 28 2005 01:45 GMT
#16
So literally it means "high hand". It encapsulates great skill, expertly conduct, may be even "commanding respect"?

If I would try to translate it as one word, I guess the only english translation would have to be "elite", right?
Please log in or register to reply.
Live Events Refresh
Next event in 37m
[ Submit Event ]
Live Streams
Refresh
StarCraft 2
PiGStarcraft424
ViBE119
CosmosSc2 19
StarCraft: Brood War
Britney 11171
Artosis 568
ZZZero.O 39
Sexy 26
NaDa 10
Dota 2
monkeys_forever494
Super Smash Bros
C9.Mang0341
Other Games
summit1g8876
tarik_tv4717
FrodaN1715
shahzam495
JimRising 479
ToD236
Maynarde65
Organizations
Other Games
gamesdonequick993
StarCraft 2
Blizzard YouTube
StarCraft: Brood War
BSLTrovo
sctven
[ Show 14 non-featured ]
StarCraft 2
• davetesta30
• AfreecaTV YouTube
• intothetv
• Kozan
• IndyKCrew
• LaughNgamezSOOP
• Migwel
• sooper7s
StarCraft: Brood War
• BSLYoutube
• STPLYoutube
• ZZZeroYoutube
League of Legends
• Doublelift4116
Other Games
• imaqtpie1177
• Scarra866
Upcoming Events
Replay Cast
37m
The PondCast
10h 37m
OSC
1d
RSL Revival
1d 10h
TriGGeR vs Cure
ByuN vs Rogue
Replay Cast
2 days
RSL Revival
2 days
Maru vs MaxPax
BSL
2 days
RSL Revival
3 days
uThermal 2v2 Circuit
3 days
BSL
3 days
[ Show More ]
Afreeca Starleague
4 days
Replay Cast
5 days
Sparkling Tuna Cup
5 days
Liquipedia Results

Completed

Proleague 2026-03-31
WardiTV Winter 2026
NationLESS Cup

Ongoing

BSL Season 22
CSL Elite League 2026
CSL Season 20: Qualifier 1
ASL Season 21
RSL Revival: Season 4
Nations Cup 2026
Stake Ranked Episode 1
BLAST Open Spring 2026
ESL Pro League S23 Finals
ESL Pro League S23 Stage 1&2
PGL Cluj-Napoca 2026
IEM Kraków 2026
BLAST Bounty Winter 2026
BLAST Bounty Winter Qual

Upcoming

CSL Season 20: Qualifier 2
Escore Tournament S2: W1
CSL 2026 SPRING (S20)
Acropolis #4
IPSL Spring 2026
BSL 22 Non-Korean Championship
CSLAN 4
Kung Fu Cup 2026 Grand Finals
HSC XXIX
uThermal 2v2 2026 Main Event
StarCraft2 Community Team League 2026 Spring
IEM Cologne Major 2026
Stake Ranked Episode 2
CS Asia Championships 2026
IEM Atlanta 2026
Asian Champions League 2026
PGL Astana 2026
BLAST Rivals Spring 2026
CCT Season 3 Global Finals
IEM Rio 2026
PGL Bucharest 2026
TLPD

1. ByuN
2. TY
3. Dark
4. Solar
5. Stats
6. Nerchio
7. sOs
8. soO
9. INnoVation
10. Elazer
1. Rain
2. Flash
3. EffOrt
4. Last
5. Bisu
6. Soulkey
7. Mini
8. Sharp
Sidebar Settings...

Advertising | Privacy Policy | Terms Of Use | Contact Us

Original banner artwork: Jim Warren
The contents of this webpage are copyright © 2026 TLnet. All Rights Reserved.