悄 meaning and stroke order
Quiet, silent, still; anxious
How to write 悄, stroke by stroke
10 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
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- 8
- 9
- 10
Meaning of 悄
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- quiet
- sad
- used in 悄悄[qiao1 qiao1]
How 悄 is built
Phono-semantic (sound + meaning) character. Heart.
忄 gives the meaning and 肖 hints at the sound.
Radical: 忄 (heart), shared by 167 characters on this site.
How to remember 悄
悄 is pictophonetic: the heart radical 忄 gives the meaning and 肖 (xiāo) hints at the sound. Picture a heart moving so softly that nobody hears it, which is how you do something quietly.
In everyday speech 悄 almost always appears doubled as 悄悄 (qiāoqiāo), meaning quietly or secretly, often before a verb with 地. In written words like 悄然 (qiǎorán) and 悄无声息 (qiǎowúshēngxī) it is read in the third tone. Example: 他悄悄地走了。(Tā qiāoqiāo de zǒu le.) He left quietly.
Common mistake: Learners often confuse 悄 with 俏 (qiào, pretty), which has the person radical 亻 instead of the heart radical 忄. Remember the tone change too: qiāo in 悄悄, but qiǎo in 悄然 and 悄无声息.
Common words with 悄
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
悄 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Questions about 悄
How many strokes are in 悄?
悄 is written with 10 strokes. The diagrams on this page number every stroke in the order it is written, with the new stroke shown in red.
What does 悄 mean?
悄 (qiāo) means quiet, silent, still; anxious. A common word with it is 悄悄 (qiāoqiāo), meaning "quiet; making little or no noise; surreptitious; stealthy".
How do you pronounce 悄?
悄 is pronounced qiāo, in the first tone (high and level).
What is the radical of 悄?
The radical of 悄 is 忄, which carries the idea of "heart". Dictionaries list 悄 under this radical.
Is 悄 on the HSK exam?
Yes. 悄 is part of the HSK 5 character list in the HSK 3.0 standard.
What does 悄悄话 mean and how is it pronounced?
悄悄话 (qiāoqiaohuà) means whispered or private words, the kind of thing you say quietly to one person. The second 悄 is usually light in speech. Example: 说悄悄话 (shuō qiāoqiaohuà), to whisper secrets.
What is the difference between 悄悄 and 静悄悄?
悄悄 usually describes how someone does an action, quietly or secretly, as in 悄悄地说 (to say quietly). 静悄悄 (jìngqiāoqiāo) describes a place or atmosphere that is very still, as in 教室里静悄悄的 (the classroom is completely silent).