蕉 meaning and stroke order
Banana, plantain
How to write 蕉, stroke by stroke
15 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 蕉
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- banana
- see 蕉萃[qiao2 cui4]
How 蕉 is built
Phono-semantic (sound + meaning) character. Plant.
艹 gives the meaning and 焦 hints at the sound.
Radical: 艹 (grass), shared by 421 characters on this site.
How to remember 蕉
The grass radical 艹 on top tells you this is a plant, and 焦 (jiāo) underneath gives the sound. Picture big green banana leaves 艹 growing above a sunny, scorching patch of ground 焦 where tropical fruit ripens.
蕉 rarely appears alone in modern Chinese. It almost always shows up in words like 香蕉 (xiāngjiāo, banana) and 芭蕉 (bājiāo, plantain or banana plant). Example: 我每天早上吃一根香蕉。(Wǒ měitiān zǎoshang chī yì gēn xiāngjiāo.) I eat a banana every morning.
Common mistake: Learners often drop the 艹 and write 焦 (jiāo, scorched), which has the same sound but means burnt. Remember that the fruit needs the plant radical on top.
Common words with 蕉
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| 香蕉 | xiāngjiāo | banana | HSK 3 |
蕉 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Questions about 蕉
How many strokes are in 蕉?
蕉 is written with 15 strokes. The diagrams on this page number every stroke in the order it is written, with the new stroke shown in red.
What does 蕉 mean?
蕉 (jiāo) means banana, plantain. A common word with it is 香蕉 (xiāngjiāo), meaning "banana".
How do you pronounce 蕉?
蕉 is pronounced jiāo, in the first tone (high and level).
What is the radical of 蕉?
The radical of 蕉 is 艹, which carries the idea of "grass". Dictionaries list 蕉 under this radical.
Is 蕉 on the HSK exam?
Yes. 蕉 is part of the HSK 3 character list in the HSK 3.0 standard.
What is the difference between 香蕉 and 芭蕉?
香蕉 (xiāngjiāo) is the everyday word for the sweet banana you buy at the market. 芭蕉 (bājiāo) usually refers to the banana plant itself or to a plantain type of fruit, and it often appears in poetry and garden descriptions.
When is 蕉 read qiáo?
The reading qiáo appears only in the old literary word 蕉萃 (qiáocuì), a variant of 憔悴 meaning haggard or worn out. In everyday Chinese you can treat 蕉 as jiāo.