僑 meaning and stroke order
Emigrant; to sojourn
How to write 僑, stroke by stroke
14 strokes in order. Each box adds the next stroke in red. Write top to bottom and left to right, and finish enclosing strokes last.
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Meaning of 僑
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- emigrant
- to reside abroad
How 僑 is built
Phono-semantic (sound + meaning) character. Person.
亻 gives the meaning and 喬 hints at the sound.
Radical: 亻 (man), shared by 277 characters on this site.
How to remember 僑
A person 亻 standing next to 喬 (qiáo), which gives the sound. Picture a person who has traveled far and now lives tall and settled in a foreign land.
僑 is the traditional form of 侨 and mostly appears in compounds about people living abroad, such as 華僑 (huáqiáo) overseas Chinese and 僑胞 (qiáobāo) compatriots living abroad. Example: 他是美國華僑。(Tā shì Měiguó huáqiáo.) He is an overseas Chinese living in the United States.
Common mistake: Learners confuse 僑 with 橋 (qiáo, bridge) and 嬌 (jiāo, delicate), which share the 喬 part. Check the left side: 亻 for a person abroad, 木 for a wooden bridge, 女 for delicate.
Common words with 僑
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| 華僑 | huáqiáo | overseas Chinese; (in a restricted sense) Chinese emigrant who still retains Chinese natio | HSK 7-9 |
Questions about 僑
How many strokes are in 僑?
僑 is written with 14 strokes. The diagrams on this page number every stroke in the order it is written, with the new stroke shown in red.
What does 僑 mean?
僑 (qiáo) means emigrant; to sojourn. A common word with it is 华侨 (huáqiáo), meaning "overseas Chinese; (in a restricted sense) Chinese emigrant who still retains Chinese natio".
How do you pronounce 僑?
僑 is pronounced qiáo, in the second tone (rising).
What is the radical of 僑?
The radical of 僑 is 亻, which carries the idea of "man". Dictionaries list 僑 under this radical.
What is the simplified form of 僑?
僑 is a traditional character. Its simplified form is 侨, used in mainland China and Singapore.
What is the difference between 華僑 and 華人?
華僑 (huáqiáo) narrowly means Chinese people living abroad who keep Chinese nationality. 華人 (huárén) is broader and includes ethnic Chinese who hold another country's citizenship.
Is 僑 used on its own as a word?
Rarely. In modern Chinese it almost always appears inside words like 僑民 (qiáomín) emigrants or 僑居 (qiáojū) to live abroad.