橋 meaning and stroke order
Bridge; beam, crosspiece
How to write 橋, stroke by stroke
16 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 橋
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- bridge
How 橋 is built
Phono-semantic (sound + meaning) character. Wood.
木 gives the meaning and 喬 hints at the sound.
Radical: 木 (tree), shared by 388 characters on this site.
How to remember 橋
橋 combines 木 (wood) with 喬 (qiáo), which gives the sound. Picture a bridge made of wooden beams, and let 喬 remind you how to say it.
橋 is the traditional form; mainland China writes it 桥. It appears in many compounds such as 桥梁 (qiáoliáng), 天桥 (tiānqiáo) and 立交桥 (lìjiāoqiáo). Example: 河上有一座橋。(Hé shàng yǒu yí zuò qiáo.) There is a bridge over the river.
Common mistake: Learners often mix up 橋 (qiáo, bridge) with 轎 (jiào, sedan chair), which shares the 喬 part but uses the 車 radical and has a different tone. Also remember the second tone in qiáo, not qiǎo as in 巧.
Common words with 橋
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| 橋梁 | qiáoliáng | bridge (lit. and fig.) | HSK 6 |
| 天橋 | tiānqiáo | overhead walkway; pedestrian bridge | HSK 7-9 |
| 立交橋 | lìjiāoqiáo | overpass; flyover | HSK 7-9 |
| 艦橋 | jiànqiáo | bridge (of a naval ship) | |
| 橋牌 | qiáopái | contract bridge (card game) | |
| 橋段 | qiáoduàn | (cinema, literature etc) scene; trope | |
| 吊橋 | diàoqiáo | drawbridge; suspension bridge |
Questions about 橋
How many strokes are in 橋?
橋 is written with 16 strokes. The diagrams on this page number every stroke in the order it is written, with the new stroke shown in red.
What does 橋 mean?
橋 (qiáo) means bridge; beam, crosspiece. A common word with it is 桥梁 (qiáoliáng), meaning "bridge (lit. and fig.)".
How do you pronounce 橋?
橋 is pronounced qiáo, in the second tone (rising).
What is the radical of 橋?
The radical of 橋 is 木, which carries the idea of "tree". Dictionaries list 橋 under this radical.
What is the simplified form of 橋?
橋 is a traditional character. Its simplified form is 桥, used in mainland China and Singapore.
What measure word is used with 橋?
Use 座 (zuò), as in 一座橋 (yí zuò qiáo), one bridge. 座 is used for large, fixed structures like bridges, mountains and buildings.
Does 橋 only mean a physical bridge?
No. 桥梁 (qiáoliáng) can mean a bridge between people or cultures in a figurative sense. 橋 also appears in 桥牌 (qiáopái), the card game bridge, and in 桥段 (qiáoduàn), a scene or trope in a film or story.