佼 meaning and stroke order
Beautiful, handsome, good-looking
How to write 佼, stroke by stroke
8 strokes in order. Each box adds the next stroke in red. Write top to bottom and left to right, and finish enclosing strokes last.
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
- 7
- 8
Meaning of 佼
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- handsome
How 佼 is built
Phono-semantic (sound + meaning) character. Person.
亻 gives the meaning and 交 hints at the sound.
Radical: 亻 (man), shared by 277 characters on this site.
How to remember 佼
佼 is a person 亻 next to 交 (jiāo), which gives the sound. Picture a person 亻 who stands out so well that everyone wants to meet and connect (交) with them.
佼 is rarely used alone in modern Chinese. It mostly appears in the set word 佼佼者 (jiǎojiǎozhě), meaning a standout or one of the best in a group. Example: 她是班里的佼佼者。(Tā shì bān lǐ de jiǎojiǎozhě.) She is one of the best in her class.
Common mistake: Learners often write 姣 (jiāo, pretty, with the woman radical 女) or 狡 (jiǎo, cunning) instead of 佼. In 佼佼者 the left side must be the person radical 亻, and the tone is third tone jiǎo, not first tone like 交 (jiāo).
Common words with 佼
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| 佼佼者 | jiǎojiǎozhě | one of the best; a standout |
Questions about 佼
How many strokes are in 佼?
佼 is written with 8 strokes. The diagrams on this page number every stroke in the order it is written, with the new stroke shown in red.
What does 佼 mean?
佼 (jiǎo) means beautiful, handsome, good-looking. A common word with it is 佼佼者 (jiǎojiǎozhě), meaning "one of the best; a standout".
How do you pronounce 佼?
佼 is pronounced jiǎo, in the third tone (dipping).
What is the radical of 佼?
The radical of 佼 is 亻, which carries the idea of "man". Dictionaries list 佼 under this radical.
Can I use 佼 by itself to call someone handsome?
Not in everyday speech. To say someone is good-looking, use words like 帅 (shuài) or 漂亮 (piàoliang). 佼 by itself sounds literary, and today it survives mainly in 佼佼者.
Is 佼佼者 about looks or about ability?
In modern usage it is about ability or performance, not appearance. It describes someone who stands out among peers, such as a top student or a leading company in an industry.