叫 meaning and stroke order
To shout; to call; to order
How to write 叫, stroke by stroke
5 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
Meaning of 叫
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- to shout
- to call
- to order
- to ask
- to be called
- by (indicates agent in the passive mood)
How 叫 is built
Phono-semantic (sound + meaning) character. Mouth.
口 gives the meaning and 丩 hints at the sound.
Radical: 口 (mouth), shared by 428 characters on this site.
How to remember 叫
叫 is pictophonetic. The mouth 口 on the left gives the meaning of shouting or calling, and 丩 (jiū) on the right hints at the sound jiào.
叫 is most often used to say someone's name or what something is called, and to tell or ask someone to do something. It can also mark the doer in a passive sentence, much like 被 (bèi) in casual speech. Example: 我叫李明。(Wǒ jiào Lǐ Míng.) My name is Li Ming.
Common mistake: Learners often write the right side as 斗 or add an extra stroke. The right part is 丩, which is just two short strokes plus a vertical. Also keep the fourth tone: it is jiào, not jiāo like 教 (jiāo, to teach).
Common words with 叫
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| 叫作 | jiàozuò | to call; to be called | HSK 2 |
| 叫好 | jiàohǎo | to applaud; to cheer | HSK 7-9 |
| 叫板 | jiàobǎn | to signal the musicians (in Chinese opera, by prolonging a spoken word before attacking a | HSK 7-9 |
| 叫做 | jiàozuò | to be called; to be known as | |
| 呼叫 | hūjiào | to shout; to yell | |
| 尖叫 | jiānjiào | to screech; to shriek | |
| 名叫 | míngjiào | called; named | |
| 叫醒 | jiàoxǐng | to awaken; to wake sb up; to rouse | |
| 叫声 | jiàoshēng | yelling (sound made by person); barking | |
| 大喊大叫 | dàhǎndàjiào | shouting and screaming (idiom); to scream loudly; to rant | |
| 叫喊 | jiàohǎn | exclamation; outcry | |
| 喊叫 | hǎnjiào | to cry out; to shout | |
| 鸣叫 | míngjiào | to emit a sound; (of birds, insects etc) to chirp, hoot etc | |
| 嚎叫 | háojiào | to howl; to yell |
叫 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Questions about 叫
How many strokes are in 叫?
叫 is written with 5 strokes. The diagrams on this page number every stroke in the order it is written, with the new stroke shown in red.
What does 叫 mean?
叫 (jiào) means to shout; to call; to order. A common word with it is 叫作 (jiàozuò), meaning "to call; to be called".
How do you pronounce 叫?
叫 is pronounced jiào, in the fourth tone (falling).
What is the radical of 叫?
The radical of 叫 is 口, which carries the idea of "mouth". Dictionaries list 叫 under this radical.
What is the traditional form of 叫?
The traditional form of 叫 is 呌. Traditional characters are used in Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau; 叫 is the simplified form used in mainland China and Singapore.
Is 叫 on the HSK exam?
Yes. 叫 is part of the HSK 1 character list in the HSK 3.0 standard, and you are expected to write it by hand from HSK 1.
What is the difference between 叫 and 叫做 when saying a name?
Use 叫 for people's names, as in 他叫王老师的儿子小明. 叫做 (jiàozuò) sounds more formal and is usually used for naming things or concepts, as in 这种花叫做梅花 (this flower is called plum blossom).
How do I use 叫 to make someone do something?
Put the person right after 叫, then the action: 妈妈叫我回家。(Māma jiào wǒ huí jiā.) Mom told me to come home. It works like 让 (ràng) and is common in spoken Chinese.