窍 meaning and stroke order
Hole, opening, aperture
How to write 窍, 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.
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- 10
Meaning of 窍
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- hole
- opening
- orifice (of the human body)
- (fig.) key (to the solution of a problem)
How 窍 is built
Phono-semantic (sound + meaning) character. Hole.
穴 gives the meaning and 巧 hints at the sound.
Radical: 穴 (cave), shared by 46 characters on this site.
How to remember 窍
窍 sits a cave or hole 穴 (xué) on top of 巧 (qiǎo), which gives the sound and means clever. Think of a clever little hole: the small opening that, once you find it, lets you get through a problem.
窍 rarely stands alone. It appears in words for a knack or a trick, like 窍门 (qiàomén) and 诀窍 (juéqiào), and in 开窍 (kāiqiào) for suddenly understanding. Example: 学语言有什么窍门吗？ (Xué yǔyán yǒu shénme qiàomén ma?) Is there a trick to learning languages?
Common mistake: Learners often say it with the third tone of its phonetic part 巧 (qiǎo), but 窍 is fourth tone, qiào. Also do not confuse the top 穴 with 宀. 穴 has the extra 八 shape underneath the roof.
Common words with 窍
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
窍 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Questions about 窍
How many strokes are in 窍?
窍 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 窍 mean?
窍 (qiào) means hole, opening, aperture. A common word with it is 诀窍 (juéqiào), meaning "secret; trick".
How do you pronounce 窍?
窍 is pronounced qiào, in the fourth tone (falling).
What is the radical of 窍?
The radical of 窍 is 穴, which carries the idea of "cave". Dictionaries list 窍 under this radical.
What is the traditional form of 窍?
The traditional form of 窍 is 竅. Traditional characters are used in Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau; 窍 is the simplified form used in mainland China and Singapore.
Is 窍 on the HSK exam?
Yes. 窍 is part of the HSK 7-9 character list in the HSK 3.0 standard.
What does 一窍不通 mean and how is it used?
一窍不通 (yīqiào bù tōng) means knowing nothing at all about a subject. It comes from the idea of a person's openings or senses not letting anything through. Example: 我对电脑一窍不通。 I know nothing about computers.
Why does 窍 refer to body openings?
In traditional Chinese thought the eyes, ears, nostrils and mouth are called openings, 窍. This sense shows up in phrases like 七窍 (qīqiào), the seven openings of the head, and in Chinese medicine texts.