叫 meaning in English

jiào

to shout; to call

HSK 1verbpreposition5 strokes

Meaning of 叫

Definitions from CC-CEDICT.

jiào

to shout
to call
to order
to ask
to be called
by (indicates agent in the passive mood)

jiào

variant of 叫[jiao4]

How to use 叫

叫 is most often used to say what someone or something is called, and to tell or ask someone to do something. It can also mark the agent in a passive sentence, like 被 but more casual. Example: 我叫王明。(Wǒ jiào Wáng Míng.) My name is Wang Ming.

叫 (jiào) has a mouth 口 on the left, so think of a mouth opening wide to shout or call someone. The small hooked part on the right is like a voice reaching out to grab attention.

Common mistake: Learners often say 我的名字叫... and 我叫... interchangeably but forget that 叫 needs no 是, so 我是叫王明 is wrong. Also do not confuse 叫 with 问 (wèn): 叫 means to tell or call someone, while 问 means to ask a question.

叫 in example sentences

Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.

有yǒu人rén叫jiào我wǒ来lái，我wǒ才cái来lái的de。

It's because I was asked to come that I'm here.

但dàn他tā的de朋péng友yǒu都dōu叫jiào他tā做zuò Ken。

But his friends call him Ken.

我wǒ不bù能néng叫jiào他tā做zuò那nà件jiàn事shì。

I can't ask him to do that.

他tā听tīng到dào有yǒu人rén从cóng后hòu面miàn叫jiào他tā的de名míng字zì。

He heard his name called from behind.

我wǒ知zhī道dào他tā叫jiào什shén么me名míng字zì。

I know what his name is.

Stroke order for each character

Open a character for its meaning, components and more words.

叫 jiào · to shout · 5 strokes

Related words

Words that share a character with 叫.

叫作	jiàozuò	to call; to be called
叫好	jiàohǎo	to applaud; to cheer
叫板	jiàobǎn	to signal the musicians (in Chinese opera, by prolonging a spoken word before attacking a
叫做	jiàozuò	to be called; to be known as
呼叫	hūjiào	to shout; to yell
尖叫	jiānjiào	to screech; to shriek
名叫	míngjiào	called; named
叫醒	jiàoxǐng	to awaken; to wake sb up; to rouse
叫声	jiàoshēng	yelling (sound made by person); barking
大喊大叫	dàhǎndàjiào	shouting and screaming (idiom); to scream loudly; to rant
叫喊	jiàohǎn	exclamation; outcry
喊叫	hǎnjiào	to cry out; to shout

Questions about 叫

What does 叫 mean?

叫 (jiào) means "to shout; to call" and is used as a verb and preposition.

How do you write 叫?

叫 is made of 1 character: 叫 (5 strokes). That is 5 strokes in total.

Is 叫 an HSK word?

Yes. 叫 is on the HSK 1 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.

What is the difference between 叫 and 让 when telling someone to do something?

Both can mean to make or have someone do something, as in 妈妈叫我回家 (Māma jiào wǒ huí jiā). 叫 sounds more spoken and direct, like calling or ordering, while 让 (ràng) is a bit more neutral and can also mean to allow.

How do I ask someone's name using 叫?

Say 你叫什么名字？(Nǐ jiào shénme míngzi?) What is your name. For a more polite version with an older person, use 您贵姓？(Nín guìxìng?) to ask their surname.