巢 meaning and stroke order
Nest, living quarters in tree
How to write 巢, stroke by stroke
11 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 巢
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- nest
How 巢 is built
Ideographic (compound meaning) character. A nest 巛田 built in a tree 木.
Radical: 巛 (stream), shared by 5 characters on this site.
How to remember 巢
The etymology hint says the top 巛 and the 田 part together picture a nest, sitting on a tree 木 at the bottom. Picture twigs piled into a round nest 田 high in a tree 木, with three little birds 巛 poking their heads out on top.
巢 (cháo) is rarely used alone in speech. It mostly appears in words like 鸟巢 (niǎocháo, bird's nest), 蜂巢 (fēngcháo, beehive) and 老巢 (lǎocháo, den or stronghold). Example: 小鸟在树上筑巢。(Xiǎoniǎo zài shù shàng zhùcháo.) The little bird is building a nest in the tree.
Common mistake: Learners often write the bottom as 木 plus a separate box and forget it forms 果 (guǒ, fruit), or they confuse 巢 with 果 itself because the lower half is identical. Also watch the tone: it is second tone cháo, not fourth tone like 吵 (chǎo) or 炒 (chǎo), which are third tone.
Common words with 巢
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
巢 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Characters that contain 巢
Learning 巢 makes these easier to recognize and write.
Questions about 巢
How many strokes are in 巢?
巢 is written with 11 strokes. The diagrams on this page number every stroke in the order it is written, with the new stroke shown in red.
What does 巢 mean?
巢 (cháo) means nest, living quarters in tree. A common word with it is 鸟巢 (niǎocháo), meaning "bird's nest; nickname for Beijing 2008 Olympic stadium".
How do you pronounce 巢?
巢 is pronounced cháo, in the second tone (rising).
What is the radical of 巢?
The radical of 巢 is 巛, which carries the idea of "stream". Dictionaries list 巢 under this radical.
Is 巢 on the HSK exam?
Yes. 巢 is part of the HSK 7-9 character list in the HSK 3.0 standard.
Why is the Beijing Olympic stadium called 鸟巢?
The stadium's steel frame looks like woven twigs, so people nicknamed it 鸟巢 (niǎocháo), bird's nest. The name stuck and is now the common way to refer to it.
Why does 卵巢 mean ovary?
卵 (luǎn) means egg, so 卵巢 (luǎncháo) is literally an egg nest, the place where eggs are kept. It is the standard medical term for ovary.