TraceHanzi

吵 meaning and stroke order

chǎo

Noisy; loud; to quarrel; to argue

HSK 37 strokesRadical 口
Strokes7
Pinyinchǎo
ToneTone 3
Frequency#1,071
Printable worksheetPractice all HSK 3 characters

How to write 吵, stroke by stroke

7 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. 1
  2. 2
  3. 3
  4. 4
  5. 5
  6. 6
  7. 7

Meaning of 吵

Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.

chǎothird tone (dipping)
  1. noisy; loud
  2. to quarrel; to argue
chāofirst tone (high and level)
  1. used in 吵吵[chao1 chao5]
  2. Taiwan pr. [chao3]

How 吵 is built

Phono-semantic (sound + meaning) character. Mouth.

kǒumouth+shǎofew

口 gives the meaning and 少 hints at the sound.

Radical: 口 (mouth), shared by 428 characters on this site.

How to remember 吵

吵 combines 口 (mouth), the meaning part, with 少 (shǎo), which gives the sound. Picture mouths that never stay quiet: lots of talking makes a place noisy and starts arguments.

吵 describes noise (这里很吵, it's noisy here) and also means to quarrel, most often in 吵架 (chǎojià). It can also mean to disturb someone with noise, as in 吵醒. Example: 他们昨天吵架了。(Tāmen zuótiān chǎojià le.) They had a fight yesterday.

Common mistake: Learners often confuse 吵 (chǎo) with 炒 (chǎo, to stir-fry), which has the fire radical 火 instead of 口. Also remember that 少 inside is not 小, so do not drop the final sweeping stroke.

Common words with 吵

Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.

WordPinyinMeaningLevel
吵架chǎojiàto quarrel; to have a rowHSK 3
争吵zhēngchǎoto quarrel; disputeHSK 7-9
吵嘴chǎozuǐto quarrelHSK 7-9
吵醒chǎoxǐngto wake sb up with a noise
吵闹chǎonàonoisy; raucous
吵吵chāochaoto make a racket; to quarrel
大吵大闹dàchǎodànàoto shout and scream (idiom); to kick up a fuss; to make a scene

吵 in example sentences

Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.

玛mǎ丽lì被bèi汤tāng姆mǔ的de声shēng音yīn吵chǎo醒xǐng了le。
Mary was awakened by Tom's voice.
她tā和hé她tā父fù亲qīn的de争zhēng吵chǎo爆bào发fā了le。
An argument erupted between her and her father.
汤tāng姆mǔ和hé玛mǎ丽lì老lǎo是shì在zài吵chǎo架jià。
Tom and Mary are always fighting.
周zhōu围wéi太tài吵chǎo了le，我wǒ无wú法fǎ专zhuān心xīn学xué习xí。
It is too noisy around here; I can't concentrate.
这zhè里lǐ有yǒu点diǎn吵chǎo，请qǐng你nǐ讲jiǎng话huà大dà点diǎn声shēng。
It's noisy around here, so speak a little louder.

Questions about 吵

How many strokes are in 吵?

吵 is written with 7 strokes. The diagrams on this page number every stroke in the order it is written, with the new stroke shown in red.

What does 吵 mean?

吵 (chǎo) means noisy; loud; to quarrel; to argue. A common word with it is 吵架 (chǎojià), meaning "to quarrel; to have a row".

How do you pronounce 吵?

吵 is pronounced chǎo, in the third tone (dipping).

What is the radical of 吵?

The radical of 吵 is 口, which carries the idea of "mouth". Dictionaries list 吵 under this radical.

Is 吵 on the HSK exam?

Yes. 吵 is part of the HSK 3 character list in the HSK 3.0 standard, and you are expected to write it by hand from HSK 3.

What is the difference between 吵 and 闹 (nào)?

Both can mean noisy, and they often appear together as 吵闹. 吵 focuses on loud talking or arguing. 闹 is broader and can mean making trouble or a fuss, as in 闹事.

How do I say "don't bother me" or "stop being noisy" with 吵?

You can say 别吵了 (bié chǎo le), stop making noise, or 别吵我 (bié chǎo wǒ), don't disturb me. Both are very common in daily speech.

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